On Monday evening, a Rexburg Police Department officer shot and killed a 50-year-old man at an apartment complex while responding to a complaint about an âunwanted subject.â
The events leading up to the shooting have not been made public, but the incident is the fourth fatal shooting by police in eastern Idaho in a week, and the fifth shooting incident overall.
Eastern Idaho typically sees two to three fatal shootings a year. The past week, however, has seen an unprecedented level of gun violence.
Law enforcement officers also have shot and killed individuals in Idaho Falls, Bingham County and Pocatello. Additionally, a suspect wanted in connection to a break in and shooting incident in Idaho Falls also shot at Chubbuck police officers while fleeing last week. In that incident officers did not return fire.
Joseph ‘Joe’ Johnson a 37 year old married father-of-four who had recently relocated his family from
California in search of a
‘better life’ was identified as the victim.
The fatal officer-involved shooting took place in Idaho Falls early Monday morning as police scoured a residential neighborhood in search of a man with a history of violence against law enforcement who had fled a traffic stop and said to be armed.
During the manhunt, a police officer came upon a man carrying a gun standing in a yard and opened fire, killing the innocent man.
According to the description of a
GoFundMe campaign launched by
Family members have identified the Idaho Falls man who was shot and killed by a police officer pursuing a suspect as Joseph Johnson, 37, a married father of four (pictured with his family).
An Idaho Falls police officer was looking for a possibly armed suspect, Tanner Shoesmith (left), 22, when he mistakenly shot and killed a man in his own backyard early Monday morning.