ALGONA, IOWA — A northern Iowa police officer has been killed in the line of duty and the man accused of shooting him is in custody in Minnesota. On Thursday morning Iowa law enforcement officials confirmed that Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram was shot-and-killed while serving an arrest warrant. Cram was an eight-year veteran of the Algona Police Force.

The shooting happened just before 8:00 pm on Wednesday, according to Mitch Mortvedt with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Cram was on patrol in Algona when he learned of an active arrest warrant for 43-year-old Kyle Ricke. When Cram located Ricke and informed him that he was being arrested, Mortvedt says Ricke opened fire on Cram – striking and killing him.

Ricke was arrested near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota – more than 100 miles north of Algona – just before midnight. He remains in custody there awaiting extradition back to Iowa. Ricke is charged with First Degree Murder for Officer Cram’s death.

During the four hours between the incident and when authorities were able to arrest Ricke, the Iowa State Patrol issued a Blue Alert — which means that the suspect is not in custody and poses a threat to law enforcement. At that time, law enforcement told residents to shelter in place and lock their vehicles and doors. They also put Bishop Garrigan High School on lockdown last night when students were still there for an event.

Authorities have not said when more details will be released.