High-speed chase suspect shot by police released from hospital

Published 10:44 pm Tuesday, April 3, 2018

A 21-year-old man that was shot by Selma police Monday afternoon after a high-speed chase has been released from the hospital.

Capt. Jason Roberts with the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation, confirmed Tuesday the suspect was released from the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Selma Police Chief Spencer Collier identified the suspect Monday night as Shawndarius T. Tyus of Selma.

Email newsletter signup

It is unclear how many times Tyus was shot, but the vehicle he was allegedly driving had multiple bullet holes in the windows.

Roberts declined Tuesday to release any details on the number of times Tyus was shot. He said due to it being an active investigation, details are limited. The SBI is only investigating the officer-involved shooting, not the high-speed chase. Roberts said if any criminal charges are filed, they will be through the Selma Police Department or the district attorney’s office.

Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson said Tyus is facing attempted murder and other charges. According to Collier, Tyus had not been arrested as of Tuesday.

The high-speed chase started Monday around 3:10 p.m. in Montgomery County when an Alabama State Trooper clocked Tyus allegedly driving 104 miles per hour.

Sgt. Steve Jarrett with the Alabama State Troopers said Monday the trooper conducted a traffic stop on a dark-colored Nissan sedan. When the trooper got out of his vehicle, the suspect fled the scene headed west on U.S. Highway 80 toward Selma.

Police radio traffic indicated the suspect was driving more than 100 miles per hour and even drove on the wrong side of the highway at some point.

As the chase entered Dallas County, more than a dozen police cars from multiple agencies with lights and sirens blaring went over the Edmund Pettus Bridge to assist with the chase.

As the suspect neared Craig Field, the vehicle turned right down Old Montgomery Highway. Officers continued to pursue him, and the chase ended near the intersection of Old Montgomery Highway and U.S. Highway 80 a few hundred feet away from the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Dozens of officers were waiting at the intersection to keep him from heading into town.

Jarrett said after the suspect crashed into a Selma police officer’s car, shots were fired, and the suspect was injured. The suspect was transported from the scene by ambulance and airlifted to UAB Hospital in Birmingham.

According to Roberts, once SBI’s investigation of the officer-involved shooting is complete, the agency will turn over its findings to the district attorney’s office, and the case will be presented to a grand jury.