LITTLE ROCK — A man suspected of shooting his ex-girlfriend later fired at officers while leading authorities on a chase that ended with him fatally shot, police said.
Authorities are working to figure out whether 50-year-old Raymond Boettcher shot himself or was killed when an Arkansas State Police trooper opened fire.
It started about 1 a.m. Wednesday when Boettcher shot 32-year-old Laura Krencius once in the chest at her southwest Little Rock residence, 8511 Dreher Lane, Little Rock Police Department spokesman Officer Michelle Hill said.
Krencius was taken to UAMS Medical Center, where she was initially listed in serious condition. A hospital spokesman had no information on Krencius' condition later Wednesday morning.
Her roommate reportedly awakened to find Krencius suffering from the wound and Boettcher running from the house. Troopers then located his car a short time later on Interstate 30 near Baseline Road and tried to pull it over, state police spokesman Bill Sadler said in a statement.
Authorities say Boettcher refused to stop and instead fled on I-430 to Interstate 40 toward Conway. At some point during the chase, Boettcher fired at pursuing officers, though no one was hit.
Boettcher's vehicle was disabled by spike strips set up on I-40 in Conway County.
As he moved the vehicle off the highway, Arkansas State Trooper Kenneth Cartwright opened fire. But it remains unclear whether that was the fatal shot.
"An examination by the State Crime Laboratory of Boettcher's body will determine whether Boettcher died as the result of a self-inflicted gun shot wound," Sadler wrote in the statement.
Cartwright has been placed on administrative leave pending a review of the shooting and the pursuit.
Hill said it was unclear why Boettcher initially shot Krencius.