Kentucky state trooper killed on I-65 as Blue Alert manhunt launched for armed suspect
Kentucky State Police Trooper Hayden Phillips was killed in a shooting on Interstate 65 in Warren County on Monday as state police issued a Blue Alert and searched for an armed suspect.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Hayden Phillips was killed following a shooting on Interstate 65 in Warren County on Monday, 28 September 2026, officials confirmed on social media.
Phillips, a Post 3 trooper assigned to Bowling Green, “made the ultimate sacrifice” while patrolling the interstate, the agency said. “Our hearts break for Trooper Phillips’ family, loved ones, and fellow troopers as we grieve this tremendous loss,” KSP Commissioner Col. Phillip Burnett Jr. said. Governor Andy Beshear said Phillips was a devoted husband and loving father to three children. State senators Mike Wilson, David Givens and Max Wise, whose districts include Warren County, issued a joint statement, and Attorney General Russell Coleman’s detectives were on the scene.
State police issued a statewide Blue Alert — used when an officer is killed, seriously injured or missing — describing the shooting as a “severe attack” on law enforcement. The alert named the suspect as Emonnie Branch, whom authorities consider armed and dangerous and warn the public not to approach.
Officers are searching for a bluish-gray Honda Civic with an Alabama temporary plate, TN018596, reportedly present during the shooting and last seen travelling northbound on I-65 near mile marker 75. Northbound I-65 was closed at mile marker 30, and police in Elizabethtown reported an increased law enforcement presence in Hardin County and adjacent counties.
Phillips, from Glasgow, Kentucky, became a trooper in 2023 and graduated from Cadet Class 103.
Sources
More on this topic: all World stories