A serial bank robber suspected of murdering a Mississippi police officer and wounding a second was killed in a shootout with cops in Arizona, ending a weeklong manhunt, authorities said Sunday.
The suspect's name was not released and the FBI said the investigation was ongoing, but officials believe the same masked man was responsible for heists in Tupelo, Miss., Atlanta and Phoenix.
The widow of Tupelo Police Department sergeant Gale Stauffer, who was killed while pursuing the bandit after the Dec. 23 stickup, praised law-enforcement.
"Gale would be proud," Beth Stauffer said at a press conference in Tupelo.
"Today is another very emotional day in the life of our family. We can truly begin the healing process," the mother of two added. "We know we have not been going through this alone. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for shining a light in this time of darkness."
Minutes after the robber stuffed a black bag with cash from tellers' drawers at a BanCorpSouth in Tupelo on Monday afternoon, Stauffer and his partner, Officer Joseph Maher, raced to the scene and stopped a car on the road.
The suspect was in the vehicle behind, jumped out and ambushed the officers, police said. Stauffer was killed and Maher was seriously hurt.
Agents soon linked the cop-killer to an attempted robbery that happened earlier that same day in Atlanta, where the suspect did not get any money from the teller but did rob a customer at a cash machine.
As a $200,000 reward was posted, dozens of tips began to pour in, but the man was still able strike again before the FBI tracked him down.
On Saturday morning, he tried to stick up a Compass Bank in Phoenix, some 1,500 miles from Mississippi, authorities said. When a uniformed officer responded and ordered the suspect to surrender, the man started firing, NBC station KPNX reported.
A plainclothes detective arrived to help and shot the robber dead, officials said.
FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Daniel McMullen said investigators have determined the suspect's cellphone was used in all three cities around the times of the robberies. He said the man wore similar clothing, made similar demands and used a wedge to prop open door to make his escape easier.
Tupelo Police Chief Bart Aguirre said the city was devastated by the murder of Stauffer, 28, who was buried Friday.
"This closure has helped us mend and begin to heal that deep, deep wound," he said.
