Ferris alum­nus James Ryan McCandless, 28, was killed Tuesday after a rou­tine stop became deadly when the sus­pect opened fire on the respond­ing offi­cers. McCandless grad­u­ated Ferris State University in 2005; he went on to serve for the Rapid City Police Department in Rapid City, South Dakota.

He and two other offi­cers were involved in the shoot­ing, which occurred after stop­ping a group of four sus­pects at around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. After a few min­utes, a Native American male in his 20s pulled a con­cealed pis­tol and opened fire. At least one offi­cer returned fire wound­ing the sus­pect, who is now in cus­tody at Rapid City Regional Hospital.

McCandless was pro­nounced dead shortly after arriv­ing at Rapid City Regional Hospital. One offi­cer was shot in the face and is sta­ble con while the other, Nick Armstrong, 27, remains in crit­i­cal con­di­tion. McCandless was a 2001 grad­u­ate of H.H. Dow High School in Midland and received a schol­ar­ship to attend Ferris State University where he majored in crim­i­nal justice.