Suspect in La Salle shooting found dead in Iowa shortly after police approached him

Police identified and then found the man who allegedly shot and killed a woman Thursday night at the Flying J Travel Plaza in La Salle.

The gunman turned the gun on himself before being arrested.

On Friday morning, La Salle police issued an update on the incident first reported at 7:43 p.m. at the travel plaza on Civic Road. There, La Salle police officers arrived to find a woman lying near the fuel pumps who had died from an apparent gunshot wound to the head.

Based on the evidence collected at the scene, La Salle detectives were able to identify the suspect and the suspect’s vehicle. An all-points bulletin was issued nationwide to find the suspect and his vehicle. The victim, meanwhile, was identified and found to have been missing from Michigan.

At 11:45 p.m., the suspect’s vehicle was found at a rest stop off Interstate 80 by Bettendorf police officers. Bettendorf is in Iowa about an hour and 20 minutes west of La Salle, according to Google Maps.

“As Bettendorf officers approached the vehicle, they heard a gunshot and later discovered the suspect deceased in the vehicle from a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” according to a news release.

The names of the victim and suspect are being withheld pending notification of their families.

“Neither the suspect nor the victim had any ties to La Salle, and the homicide appears to be related to a domestic situation,” according to the release.

Authorities surmised as much shortly after La Salle and Peru police officers converged on the Flying J Travel Plaza along Interstate 80 in La Salle about 8 p.m. Thursday.

Although police initially gleaned limited identifiers on the suspect (a white male standing 5 feet, 6 inches tall weighing 130 pounds) and his vehicle (a blue Hyundai Tucson), sources said it was quickly determined to have been a domestic incident.

“The La Salle Police Department would like to thank members of the Peru Police Department; Oglesby Police Department; Illinois State Police; Illinois State Police Crime Scene Services; La Salle County State’s Attorney’s Office; La Salle County Coroner’s Office; Bettendorf, Iowa Police Department; Genesee County (Michigan) Sheriff’s Office; Ottawa County (Michigan) Sheriff’s Office; and the Macomb County (Michigan) Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in the investigation.”