Two Men Involved In Friday’s Trooper-Involved Shooting East Of Flagstaff Have Been Identified

The driver and passenger of a truck who caused a chase and trooper-involved shooting east of Flagstaff Friday have been identified. DPS officials say troopers pulled over a semitruck for an inspection at around 7:35 a.m. There were two people inside the truck and both got out. During a discussion with the trooper, the truck’s passenger, 35-year-old Shadrick Crowder of Virginia, got back in the truck and drove away on eastbound I-40 east of Flagstaff. Crowder left the truck’s original driver, 55-year-old Robert Owens Junior, also of Virginia, behind. Troopers then began to follow the truck. During the pursuit, additional troopers tried to deploy stop sticks to stop the semi, but failed. After a short time, Crowder drove across the median and started to go westbound in the eastbound lanes headed back to the city. Troopers stationed on the Walnut Canyon Road overpass opened fire on Crowder to get him to stop. When he was shot, the semi-truck then hit another semi-truck before coming to a stop near the Walnut Canyon Exit. Two people were in the second truck and suffered minor injuries. I-40 eastbound was shut down for several hours. Troopers involved in the incident were not hurt. Crowder has a history of arrests for drugs, violent crimes and weapon violations in several states. He has been booked into the Coconino County Jail on charges of attempted first-degree murder, drug possession, possession of narcotics for sale, transportation of narcotics for sale and a host of other charges. Owens was booked on the same drug charges.