Crime

Police shoot, kill man in Ashland, marking 4th police shooting in KY Tuesday

Police car lights in night time, crime scene, night patrolling the city. Abstract blurry image. Photo by Getty Images This is a stock image downloaded from Getty Images. It is a Royalty Free image.
Police car lights in night time, crime scene, night patrolling the city. Abstract blurry image. Photo by Getty Images This is a stock image downloaded from Getty Images. It is a Royalty Free image. Getty Images/iStockphoto

Police shot and killed a burglary suspect Tuesday in Boyd County, according to Kentucky State Police.

The incident was one of at least four police shootings statewide Tuesday, including at least two that were fatal.

Officers with the Ashland Police Department were called to a house on Blackburn Avenue around 7 p.m. for a trespassing and burglary complaint.

The suspect — man believed to have a gun — had fled by the time officers arrived. But while escorting the person who reported the robbery, police encountered the suspect, armed with a shotgun, at a nearby church.

A standoff ensued, and the police department called its special response team. Officers eventually shot and killed the suspect.

“Despite efforts to negotiate a peaceful surrender, the situation escalated and resulted in the male individual being fatally wounded,” KSP said in a news release. “No officers were injured during the incident.”

KSP is investigating the shooting, a routine practice when law enforcement officers fire their weapons while responding to incidents.

“KSP is committed to being transparent while ensuring the integrity of the investigation.,” KSP said. “To protect the integrity of an ongoing investigation, it is KSP’s standard operating procedure not to release specific details until vital witnesses have been interviewed and pertinent facts have been gathered.”

The incident was one of at least four police shootings in Kentucky on Tuesday.

One happened in Boone County, where officers shot and killed a man at an Amazon facility after a report of a stolen semi-truck.

The other two incidents were not fatal.

One happened in Berea, where a man allegedly pinned an officer between two vehicles before at least one officer fired his gun into the vehicle to stop the incident.

The other occurred in Knox County, after a report that a woman had barricaded herself in her home and was making suicidal threats. Once arriving at her home, the woman threatened deputies with a pitchfork and a deputy responded by shooting her in the abdomen.

This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 4:26 PM.

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Monica Kast
Lexington Herald-Leader
Monica Kast covers higher education for the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com. Previously, she covered higher education in Tennessee for the Knoxville News Sentinel. She is originally from Louisville, Kentucky, and is a graduate of Western Kentucky University. Support my work with a digital subscription
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