University of Kentucky Student Shot and Killed in Apparent Robbery, Police Have POI

A student at the University of Kentucky (UK) who was shot in an apparent robbery early Friday morning has died.

According to the Associated Press, the coroner in Fayette County identified the victim as Jonathon Krueger, a 22-year-old from Toledo, Ohio, who died from a gunshot wound to the chest. Police have a person of interest in the shooting, but have not arrested or charged anyone.

Lexington Police Department (LPD) told WKYT they responded to the shooting around 2 a.m. Friday and were looking for a person in a red hooded sweater who fled the scene in a maroon mini van. Someone who was with Krueger at the time said a van pulled up to them and two men on hooded sweatshirts began taking their belongings.

Krueger's companion told police he threw his wallet at the men and ran for help, which was when he heard the gunshots. He found two people who called the police.

"The look on his face was just like, incredible. He was in so much shock. He was asking us if like, he could trust us, cause he was just scared of anything at that point in time. That was his friend who got shot at so it's, terrifying," Thomas O'Mara, one of the men that called 911, told WKYT.

The LPD attempted to pull over a maroon mini van around 5:30 a.m. on drunk driving suspicion, but the vehicle sped off instead. Officers pursued the car back to a nearby house, where they called in a SWAT team for backup. An hour later, a man named Justin Smith surrendered to arrest.

The LPD would not confirm whether or not the arrest was in connection to the shooting earlier that morning.

"I am deeply saddened to let you know that a member of our University of Kentucky family was tragically killed in a shooting incident early this morning," UK President Eli Capilouto said in a statement. "Jonathan Krueger, a 22-year-old junior in the College of Communication and Information, was killed while walking home in the area of Maxwell Street and Transylvania Park. Lexington Police are questioning one person of interest in relation to the incident, and the investigation is ongoing.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to Jonathan's family, friends, faculty members, and fellow students. We have reached out to his family to let them know that we are here to assist them in any way we can at this incomprehensible moment."