Update: Suspect who shot, killed northern Iowa police officer is arrested in Minnesota

A man captured and arrested in southern Minnesota after shooting and killing a northern Iowa police officer now stands charged with first-degree murder, officials said Thursday.

The deadly encounter occurred about 8 p.m. Wednesday on the south side of Algona, a city of about 5,300 residents roughly 35 miles south of Iowa's border with Minnesota, according to the Iowa State Patrol.

Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS) officials say Algona police officer Kevin Cram was shot while trying to arrest Kyle L. Ricke, 43, of Algona, over an active warrant for harassment in Palo Alto County. Cram, 33, was taken to Kossuth Regional Health Center in Algona, where he was pronounced dead.

According to the charging document, Ricke yelled immediately after he shot Cram with a handgun, "too late [expletive]. … I'm tired of all this [expletive]."

Ricke was captured without incident roughly 110 miles from the shooting scene four hours later near Sleepy Eye, Minn., at a family member's residence. He was booked into the Brown County jail around 4:10 a.m. Thursday.

Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said Ricke is charged with first-degree murder and will be extradited to Kossuth County.

Cram's death marks the sixth law enforcement officer in or near Minnesota who has been fatally shot in the past five months.

Iowa DPS Commissioner Stephan Bayens called Cram a hero who "chose to be a beacon of light."

"Kevin ... was an outstanding police officer here at the Algona Police Department and in many ways was the bedrock of this department," Bayens said.

Bayens called Ricke a coward and said Cram's death wouldn't deter Algona and Iowa police from doing their jobs.

Cram was a 10-year police veteran who worked in Algona for eight years. He started his career in North Springs, Iowa. DPS officials ask the public to respect the privacy of Cram's family and Algona police.

Few details are known about the shooting, including whether there were any witnesses. No one else was injured during the incident.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety issued a "Blue Alert" after Cram was shot, meaning a member of law enforcement has been assaulted or is missing.

The Minnesota State Patrol had pilots in the air assisting in the pursuit, said Lt. Gordon Shank, the patrol's chief spokesman.

On July 14 in Fargo, Officer Jake Wallin, 23, was killed and two fellow officers and a civilian were wounded by gunfire from Mohamad Barakat, of Fargo. A fourth officer shot and killed Barakat.

On May 6 in western Wisconsin, St. Croix County Sheriff's Deputy Kaitie Leising, 29, was shot just outside of Glenwood. Leising was answering a call about a drunken driver stuck in a ditch. The suspect, Jeremiah D. Johnson, of Shakopee, was found dead nearby with a gun close to his body.

On April 15 in western Minnesota, Pope County Sheriff's Deputy Joshua Owen was killed on his 44th birthday while responding to a domestic dispute call April 15. Two other officers were wounded. The suspected shooter, Bryan Nygard, of Cyrus, Minn., died when officers returned fire.

On April 8 in western Wisconsin, two police officers were shot and killed in Barron County during a traffic stop in Cameron: officers Emily Breidenbach, 32, of the Chetek Police Department, and Hunter Scheel, 23, of the Cameron Police Department. The suspect, Glenn Douglas Perry, of New Auburn, Wis., died in an exchange of gunfire.