ROCHESTER, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say the suspect in an exchange of gunfire with officers in eastern Iowa, has been arrested. 60-year old Charles Johnston was taken into custody and was being held in the Cedar County Jail on felony charges of Attempted Murder and Assault on a Peace Officer with Dangerous Weapons.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety says state troopers and local officers responded to a 911 call around 2:20 p.m. Thursday about gunshots at an Interstate 80 rest area. The shooter – later identified as Johnston – left the rest area, drove west, exited the interstate about 2 miles south of Rochester and fired at motorists at a gas station. No one was hit.
Troopers and local officers encountered Johnston on a nearby rural road and exchanged shots with him. They arrested him after a brief standoff. The department says no one was injured.