A police officer was shot and killed Tuesday morning in an Illinois suburb of St. Louis after approaching a vehicle he suspected had been stolen, authorities said. 

Pontoon Beach Officer Tyler Timmons was shot at a Speedway gas station along Route 111 just before 8 a.m., Illinois State Trooper Jayme Bufford told Fox News in a statement. 

An aerial shot of the Speedway Gas Station
(News Nation)

Timmons was rushed to Saint Louis University Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased, Bufford said.   

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Timmons had approached a car in the gas station’s parking lot because he suspected it had been stolen, and a man began firing on him, Bufford said. The suspect was taken into custody.

The Speedway Gas Station where the officer was shot. 
(News Nation)

The investigation is being handled by Illinois State Police.

Bufford did not immediately release additional information, saying that “the investigation is in its infancy.”

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Police spokesman Michael Fillback in Edwardsville, a neighboring community, told KSDK-TV that “we would ask the public for their prayers for the officer, his family and the Pontoon Beach Police Department.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.