Suspect in Burleson Police Shooting Arrested in Gainesville

UPDATE: The Fort Worth Star Telegram repots that Jerry Don Elders has been taken into custody in Gainesville.

According to WFAA-TV, second person believed to be have been involved is being interviewed, while police are still searching for a third.

A statewide manhunt is underway for a man believed to have shot a Burleson police officer during a traffic stop Wednesday, then killing a woman in a carjacking while fleeing.

Police have issued a Blue Alert for 39-year-old Jerry Don Elders. The last vehicle he was known to be driving was a stolen silver Toyota Tacoma with license plate DKB6819. Police say Elders is considered armed and dangerous.

According to Burleson Police Chief Billy Cordell, one of his officers conducted a traffic stop for an equipment violation in the 1100 block of Hillside Drive in Burleson around 4:15 AM Wednesday. As the officer (whose name had not been made public Wednesday afternoon) was approaching the vehicle's passenger side, Elders opened fire through a window and struck the officer several times.

The officer was later hospitalized at John Peter Smith hospital in Fort Worth in stable condition.

Chief Cordell said another man and a woman were in the vehicle with Elders, but didn't share details about them at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

The suspects fled the scene in the vehicle and abandoned it a short time later. Police say Elders went to a home in the County Road 802 area and carjacked a woman. The woman entered a police station around 8:44 AM with multiple gunshot wounds. She was transported to a hospital, where she later passed away.

US Marshals, Texas Rangers, and troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety have joined local police in a manhunt for Elders.

Anyone who may be able to provide helpful information is asked to call the Burleson Police Department at 817-426-9903 or Crime Stoppers at (817) 469-TIPS.

If you spot Elders, call 9-1-1 when it's safe to do so. Please do not approach him or try to apprehend him on your own.