EDDYVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky state trooper who had been on the force less than a year was killed in a shooting during a chase in western Kentucky and authorities were searching Monday morning for a suspect.

Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder, 31, was conducting a traffic stop Sunday night around 10:20 p.m. on Interstate 24 when the driver fled, Kentucky State Police said in a news release.

A chase ensued with the suspect stopping abruptly, causing the trooper's vehicle to "make contact" with the rear of the suspect's vehicle, the news release said.

The driver then fired several shots into Ponder's police cruiser, hitting him several times. Ponder was taken to a hospital in Princeton, Kentucky, where he died shortly before midnight, the release said.

The suspect, who police say fled the scene on foot, has been identified as 25-year-old Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks. He was described as a black male who's about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighing about 140 pounds.

Ponder had graduated from the Kentucky State Police training academy in January and was stationed at the state police post in Mayfield, the news release said.