Algona, Iowa – Iowa State Patrol has announced that on Wednesday, in Algona, a person accused of shooting a police officer was taken into custody approximately four hours after the shooting occurred, around midnight.
According to the investigative team, the officer was shot around 8 PM on the 1100 block of South Minnesota Street. The suspect has been identified as 43-year-old Kyle Rick from Algona.
The condition of the officer remains unknown.
The state patrol has canceled the Blue Alert, which is used to alert law enforcement personnel when a suspect poses a threat to officers and public safety. The Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office has stated that “everything is clear.”
In the weeks leading up to the shooting, Rick had been dealing with legal issues. According to online court records, he had been in court a few hours before the shooting.
Records show that on August 28th, Rick was accused of third-degree harassment.
According to the criminal complaint, on August 23rd, Rick’s former girlfriend informed law enforcement that he had sent her dozens of text messages and had attempted to call her multiple times within two hours. The officer read the text messages and reported that Rick had called the woman by name and “continued to joke with her.”
The officer advised him not to contact the woman, warning that otherwise he would be charged with harassment. The woman contacted the officer four days later, on August 27th, stating that Rick had sent her text messages and emails. The next day, Rick admitted to attempting to contact the woman. He was arrested and charged.
Rick was released from Kossuth County Jail on August 29th. He appeared in court for the shooting on the morning of November 3rd, with his hearing date set for November 3rd.