Officials with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, late Friday night, identified a man who was involved in an eastern Iowa incident Wednesday night, that escalated into shots being fired by the subject and law enforcement. 29-year old Jihad Merrick, of Minneapolis, MN., died as a result.

On January 17th, 2018, at around 8:31 p.m., the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 report of a subject — later identified as Merrick – with a gun pointed at his head in a vehicle at Love’s Truck Stop in Floyd, Iowa. Prior to officers’ arrival, Merrick fled the area southbound on Highway 218.

At 8:49 p.m., a Nashua police officer observed a vehicle traveling southbound on Highway 218 at 104 mph. The officer stopped the vehicle and observed the driver (Merrick) get out pointing a handgun at his head. Officers from the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office, the Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Office, Nashua PD, and the Iowa State Patrol responded and negotiated with the Merrick for approximately 40 minutes before the driver fired a shot from inside the vehicle.

Officers approached the vehicle to find Merrick unharmed. Merrick resisted officer’s attempts to take him into custody and drove the vehicle forward striking an officer. Two officers fired and struck Merrick, who was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is continuing to investigate the incident.