Man wanted for shooting Granite City officer killed in police shootout

EAST CAPE GIRARDEAU, Ill. – The man accused of shooting a Granite City police officer was killed Wednesday night after a chase and shootout with authorities near Cape Girardeau.

This was a violent and dramatic end to the intense search for Donald Friese. Authorities are not commenting yet on how the search for Friese ended.

Granite City police responded to the area of 25th and Delmar on a disturbance call around 10 p.m. Tuesday, where police said they encountered Friese there.

We’re told a scuffle started and Friese shot at the officers, hitting one of them in the arm. Granite City police returned fire, hitting Friese, but he fled the scene. The Granite City officer who was shot was treated and released from the hospital.

A massive manhunt began for Friese. Authorities said he was seen by officers in East Cape Girardeau, Illinois, around 8:40 p.m. Wednesday. In pursuit, Friese tried to maneuver his vehicle through a field and got stuck.

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Friese barricaded himself in the vehicle, then showed a black long gun and fired at law officers, according to Illinois State Police. Multiple officers returned fire, killing Friese. No officers were hurt at the scene.

Friese was a prior convicted felon. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison for second-degree murder in connection with a deadly high-speed crash in 2013 that killed an 18-year-old girl, but he was released in late 2020.

Then, this past August, Friese was charged with aggravated fleeing. However, he was released from jail in December, pending the outcome of that case. A judge told Friese that he was not allowed to have a gun during a recent pre-trial hearing.

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