Iowa Chief Shot During "Rolling Standoff"

Perry (IA) Chief of Police Eric Vaughn was wounded in a Tuesday morning shooting during a standoff with a suspect, officials say.

A Perry resident shot out the back window of a vehicle before 5 a.m., prompting a response from Perry officers with assistance from Dallas County Sheriff's Office deputies. Law enforcement searched for the suspect — identified as Jeremiah Messner — for an hour-and-a-half to two hours before the situation evolved into what Deputy Adam Infante called a "rolling standoff," WeAreIowa reports.

The man was armed with a handgun but put the weapon down once "some items" were offered to the suspect, including a lighter, Infante added.

"As we went into effect an arrest, [the suspect] made it back to the weapon, a struggle ensued ... and the chief of the Perry Police Department, Eric Vaughn, was shot in the leg," Infante said at a press conference late Tuesday morning.

Chief Vaughn is expected to be released from the hospital Wednesday.