Lexington police officer returns shots at armed suspect during foot pursuit
A Lexington police officer returned fire at a person armed with a rifle during a foot pursuit early Monday morning, according to Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers.
The shooting happened at an apartment complex in the 100 block of Lakeshore Drive. Weathers said police had been alerted to a robbery, including a stolen vehicle, in the 2000 block of Cambridge Drive. Police located the vehicle at the apartment complex on Lakeshore Drive, where a person armed with a rifle fled on foot.
During the pursuit, the person fired one shot, Weathers said. An officer returned fire, but no one was struck by gunfire.
The suspect, who was later identified as Jaylin Clark, 20, suffered minor injuries during the pursuit and was treated at a local hospital. He has since been released and is in police custody.
Clark is charged with first-degree wanton endangerment involving a police officer, carjacking, third-degree fleeing or evading police, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and an unrelated warrant, according to police. He is being held at the Fayette County Detention Center.
Body cameras worn by the officers involved in the incident were activated, Weathers said. The officers will be placed on administrative assignment while the investigation continues.
No other information about the shooting was released. The Kentucky State Police’s Critical Incident Response Team is investigating the shooting, Weathers said.
Clark has a prior criminal history related to firearms charges.
In November 2022, when Clark was 17 years old, he was indicted on first-degree robbery in Fayette Circuit Court, according to court records. He later accepted a guilty plea deal to an amended down charge of theft by unlawful taking, over $10,000, and was sentenced to seven years in prison in January 2024.
Clark also pleaded guilty to a charge of receiving stolen property (a firearm) in June 2024 and was sentenced to three years in prison one month later. Court records indicate the sentence was set to run concurrently with the theft conviction, and he was required to serve a minimum of 30 days.
Clark was released from prison in October 2024, 10 months after beginning his sentence for the theft conviction, according to court documents. He was placed on parole, which was scheduled to last until February 2027.
It was the first time a Lexington police officer has been involved in a shooting since the Richmond Road Baptist Church shooting in July.
Lexington police Sgt. Ross Collins and patrol officers Kyle Blankenship and Simon Rankin fired on Guy House after he shot a Kentucky State Police trooper at Blue Grass Airport and four more people, fatally wounding two, at the church.
The officers found House, along with some of the victims, in the church’s back parking lot and fired shots at him.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 8:19 AM with the headline "Lexington police officer returns shots at armed suspect during foot pursuit."
