McHenry Co. Deputy Killed In Rockford Shooting Identified

MCHENRY COUNTY, IL -- The McHenry County Sheriff's Office has identified the deputy fatally while serving an arrest warrant at a Rockford motel Thursday morning as Jacob Keltner. In a Facebook post Thursday afternoon, the sheriff's office shared that Keltner died shortly after 3:30 p.m. The 13-year veteran of the McHenry Sheriff's Office was working with the U.S. Marshalls Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force when 39-year-old Floyd E. Brown, of Springfield, shot him.

McHenry County Sheriff Bill Prim released the following statement Thursday evening:

"It is with great sadness I announce today the passing away of Deputy Sheriff Jacob Keltner, who was shot this morning in the line of duty and subsequently died in the hospital.
Other police agencies, federal, state and local, are at work on this investigation and authoritative information will come from them at the appropriate time, so I will not dwell on the circumstances that gave rise to his untimely death.

For those of us in the McHenry County Sheriff's Office, this is bitter news. Deputy Keltner was an integral part of our office, someone who had risen quickly to greater responsibilities after he was first sworn in in 2006. He was loved and respected by all his colleagues, and he will be sorely missed."

The Rockford Police Department said U.S. Marshals were serving the warrant at the Extended Stay America on North Bell School Road, when a suspect shot at them from inside a hotel room, hitting the deputy. Police said they responded at around 9:15 a.m. to the hotel after receiving a report that a task force member had been hit.

Rockford Police Lt. Andre Brass said Floyd then escaped from a hotel room, reportedly jumping out of a third-floor window before fleeing, according to media reports.

The Rockford Police Department said Illinois State Police, SWAT officers and multiple law enforcement agencies have barricaded an area on southbound I-55 near Lincoln as a standoff continues with the man accused of fatally shooting Keltner.

According to Keltner's LinkedIn page, he'd served as a fugitive investigator for the McHenry County Sheriff's Office assigned to the United States Marshal Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force over the past five years. Prior to that, he worked as a detective and deputy sheriff. He is a 2005 graduate of Western Illinois University.

• Deputy Killed, Suspect Barricaded On I-55 After Shooting: Report

Following the incident Thursday, District 300 issued a shelter in place for schools in the western portion of its district, including Gilberts Elementary, Hampshire Elementary, Hampshire Middle, Hampshire High and Wright Elementary schools after learning the shooter had fled the Rockford area. The shelter-in-place was in place for about twenty minutes late Thursday morning.

Local police departments have been expressing their condolences over Keltner's line-of-duty death over social media.