A three-hour long standoff in Hazleton last night with a suspect wanted for a homicide probation violation ended in the fatal shooting of the suspect by police.

State police at Hazleton identified the suspect as a 48-year-old man from Whiteland, Indiana. They are withholding his name until his next of kin is notified.

The incident began earlier Monday with U.S. Marshal Eastern District and Technical Operations Group attempting to locate and arrest the suspect for a homicide probation violation. The task force members executed a traffic stop of a truck-tractor believed to be transporting the suspect near Exit 124 at Frackville, along Interstate 81. At the stop the truck driver got out of the vehicle but the passenger remained in the vehicle. Officers confirmed that the passenger was the suspect they were seeking.

The passenger then fled the scene in the truck and drove northbound with troopers from the Frackville and Hazleton barracks involved in the pursuit that spanned multiple miles and jurisdictions. All attempts to disable the truck tractor failed and the man then fled into Hazleton.

The male drove the truck onto Beech Street in the city where it became stuck in a grassy area near the city skating rink. A perimeter was set around the truck and the state police Special Emergency Response Team activated.

During the three-hour standoff the suspect refused to surrender and intermittently fired weapons from the vehicle at the troopers. The man was then shot and killed. This occurred somewhere around 9 p.m.

The state police, with the assistance of the Luzerne County District Attorney’s office, will continue to investigate the shooting.