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Man shot, killed by Providence police during search for suspect

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- An investigation continues Friday morning after Rhode Island State Police shot and killed a man driving a truck while looking for another suspect wanted for stealing a police cruiser.

The victim’s female passenger was also wounded when the incident unfolded on a ramp next to the Providence Place Mall on Thursday.

BOSTON 25 NEWS SPECIAL REPORT

The situation began with a man named Donald Morgan, who’s accused of stealing the cruiser and getting into a crash.

MORE: Police: Search for stolen cruiser suspect continues after highway shooting

While police were searching for Morgan they said they received a tip that he jumped into a white truck.

And when officers believed they located it on I-95, they began to pursue it. When it wouldn’t stop, police opened fire on the truck in front of the mall.

The driver was killed and a passenger was injured.

Police then realized that the person they killed was not Morgan, and as of Friday morning he remains on the loose.

“The behavior of the operator of that vehicle, the white truck, is behaving in such an aggressive erratic manner, he was causing a huge public safety risk. There were several people in danger and in jeopardy,” Providence Police Chief Hugh Clements said.

The gunfire was caught on camera for several angles, and along with police, witnesses and others are left asking if it was necessary.

“Several of the officers on the scene received enough of a threat to use that type of force,” Clements said.

A source tells Boston 25 News the man and woman in the truck did have criminal records. Police will be speaking to the woman after she recovers from surgery to know why the driver didn’t stop for police.