Police: Officer in West Virginia shooting unlikely to survive

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia police officer who was shot by a suspect is unlikely to survive, a police chief said Wednesday.

Charleston officer Cassie Johnson was shot Tuesday while responding to a parking complaint. She was sworn in as a police officer in January 2019.

Charleston Police Officer Cassie Johnson unlikely to survive after being shot in the line of dutyhttps://t.co/rscKH7vAjq

— WOWK 13 News (@WOWK13News) December 2, 2020

“With a heavy heart, I hate to say that she is not going to be able to pull through this,” Charleston Police Chief Tyke Hunt said at news conference. “She is still fighting, but her body is unable to sustain life by itself.”

Doctors are working with the family to donate her organs, Hunt said.

“I commend her for, even in her passing, still being the true hero that I know that she is,” Hunt said.

A public vigil was planned in Charleston on Wednesday night.

The suspect was identified as Joshua M. Phillips, 38. According to a criminal complaint, Phillips had been free on bond from a January 2020 weapon-related arrest, news outlets reported.

Phillips also was wounded on Tuesday and was caught a short distance away. No charges have been filed. Phillips remained hospitalized Wednesday.

Charleston Police cruisers have arrived at Laidley Field. Inside are officer Cassie Johnson’s family and fellow members of the CPD. pic.twitter.com/82TK7o5umK

— Danielle Dindak (@danielledindak) December 2, 2020