Prairie State Wire

Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly has sent condolences to the family of Wayne County Police Deputy Officer Sean Riley after his shooting death.

"On behalf of the Illinois State Police, I extend my heartfelt condolences to Wayne County Deputy Sean Riley's family, friends, and brothers and sisters at the Wayne County Sheriff's Office," Kelly posted on Twitter.  

Riley also commended the efforts of officers who worked to apprehend a suspect in the still-unfolding investigation.

"Once again, the Illinois State Police has safely apprehended an alleged cop killer with exceptional professionalism, patience and persistence standing side-by-side with all Illinois law enforcement through another dark and difficult moment,” he said. “Mercifully, this incident was concluded with no further harm to first responders."

Ray Tate, 40, of Kentucky was charged with murder by the Wayne County State's Attorney. He is also charged with carjacking a Missouri couple shortly after the shooting.

Tate was taken into custody at a home in nearby Carlyle after allegedly taking a homeowner hostage. He is now being held at the Clinton County Jail.

In a post to Facebook, the Wayne County, Illinois, Sheriff's Office said Riley was shot while responding to a motorist assist call on Interstate 64 near Mill Shoals around 5 a.m. Wednesday. His squad car was later found abandoned on I-64.

St. Peters police spokeswoman Melissa Doss said evidence was found at the scene of the carjacking that took place at a nearby QuikTrip that leads officers to believe the same suspect was involved in both that crime and the deadly shooting.

"There was evidence at the QuikTrip scene which indicates the suspect was also involved in the series of crimes which occurred in Illinois earlier this morning," she said, declining to go into further details in the ongoing investigation.