Police released a picture of the suspected shooter and named him as Billy Jones.
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Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said his agency is assisting but he referred all questions to Sebastian County authorities.
Sebastian County Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck told KHBS-TV that the officers were responding to a disturbance at a home.
Cooper died. Spells suffered superficial wounds.
Cooper was around 65 and was getting ready to retire soon, Hollenbeck said.
“Immediately when three officers got [to the house] they were basically ambushed”, Sgt. Daniel Grubbs, of the Fort Smith Police Department, said. A man suspected of shooting and wounding the two law enforcement officers has been taken in into custody, according to the local sheriff.
“Cpl. Bill Cooper was dynamic”. He has not yet been charged.
During the encounter, Jones shot at and damaged a police robot providing surveillance to the responding officers, Hollenbeck said.
Corporal Cooper has been employed with the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office since 2001 and served five years with the Fort Smith Police Department. Law officers, under fire, rescued Cooper and Spells and also civilians who had taken cover, the sheriff said.
The conditions of the officers are unknown at this time.
The shooting happened Wednesday morning.
Dozens of police vehicles, including a SWAT truck, quickly descended on the area and surrounded a house where the suspect had barricaded himself inside.
Hackett is a town about 170 miles west of Little Rock. Jones apparently kept firing even after the two officers were shot and engaged in a several hours-long standoff. A military veteran and 20-year member of Arkansas law enforcement, Deputy Cooper dedicated his life to protecting our state and our country.
The governor says he didn’t have details about the Wednesday morning shooting in Hackett.
Stay with us for more details as they become available. Responding to a 911 call, police arrived at the residence.
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Read Friday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
