A Mexican national has been identified as the suspect who exchanged gunfire with Highway Patrol officers May 31 on I-35 near Cameron. The man died after his car overturned during a police pursuit.
Authorities said a preliminary autopsy indicated that Julian Santiago-Cruz, 26, of Guadalupe Nuevo Leon, Mexico, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to a Highway Patrol news release, officers received a call about shots being fired from a northbound red passenger car near the 48-mile marker at about 7 a.m.
Authorities said the suspect fired shots at other vehicles. Two motorists suffered nonlife-threatening injuries and were treated at a local hospital.
A trooper located the suspect vehicle and after a short pursuit the suspect fired shots at the trooper who returned fire. The vehicle traveled off the right side of the interstate and overturned. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control continues to investigate.