Vermont State Police have identified a man who was shot and killed Tuesday in a parking lot outside the Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital in St. Johnsbury.
Officials say 44-year-old Vincent Keithan died following the shooting around 8:40 a.m. Tuesday. An autopsy conducted Wednesday revealed Keithan, of St. Johnsbury, died from a gunshot wound to the neck. His death was ruled a homicide. No arrests have been made.
During the early stages of the investigation, state police had identified a Jeep Wrangler that was in the area at the time of the incident and sought to speak with the occupants. Police throughout the region were alerted to be on the lookout for the gray Jeep wrangler with Connecticut license plate AX74330 and said the occupants should be considered potentially armed and dangerous.
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New York State Police located the Jeep outside of Vermont around 5 p.m. Tuesday. Troopers attempted to stop the vehicle as it headed south on the Taconic State Parkway near State Route 199 in the town of Milan, New York, but the driver failed to comply and led police on a short pursuit.
Police used spike strips to stop the vehicle, and the driver and passenger ran from the Jeep into the woods. The men were found a short time later, state police said.
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The driver was uninjured and released. The Jeep's driver was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and remained hospitalized Wednesday in stable condition.
According to state police, no one is currently in custody in connection with Keithan's shooting death. Police have said it appears preliminarily that the shooting was not random and Keithan was targeted.
The investigation by both the Vermont State Police and the New York State Police remains active and ongoing. No further details were immediately available.
Anyone with information about what happened is asked to call Vermont State Police at 802-748-3111. Tips also may be submitted anonymously online at http://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
