In a matter of seconds, Roanoke Rapids police officer John Taylor was shot multiple times following a traffic stop on Interstate 95 Wednesday.

In less than 24 hours, the man who allegedly shot him, Michael Eugene Edgerton, who was paroled for burglaries in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 2001, allegedly shot and killed himself about 100 yards in the woods behind Halifax Academy. The woman who was with the 38-year-old Edgerton, Renee Michele Phillips, 43, has no state prison record in Pennsylvania, officials there said this afternoon.

Chief Jeff Hinton during morning press conference.

Taylor, 31, a five-year veteran of the city police department with nine years total experience was working the city’s portion of the interstate when he saw a car following another vehicle too closely, Chief Jeff Hinton said at a morning press conference today.

Taylor stopped the vehicle shortly before 2:30 p.m. and, as is protocol on interstate stops, approached the vehicle on the passenger side. There was never any confrontation, Hinton explained, but after the greeting shots were fired, shots that left Taylor, a married father of one child, with injuries to his neck, hand and upper torso.

The vest he was wearing probably saved him from death, the police chief said. “He is one of our more safety conscious officers.”

On Tuesday, however, “A perfect storm came together,” and the officer was fired upon, the driver from firing inside the car. “It’s something you prepare for every day,” the chief said.

TV reporters and camera persons film the press conference.

Taylor was able to report to dispatchers he had been shot and the description he gave helped investigators determine the vehicle had been stolen from Pennsylvania, Hinton told reporters.

The car was found Wednesday night at the school and the area sealed off with hundreds of officers from different areas and police helicopters scouring the area above.

Halifax County Sheriff Jeff Frazier said Edgerton and Phillips hunkered down for the night but were flushed out by bloodhounds and confronted by officers. Edgerton allegedly killed himself, something the State Bureau of Investigation continues to examine and Phillips was taken into custody and charges are pending, Hinton said.

Hinton told reporters this afternoon, “We’ve had assistance from law enforcement agencies from Southside Virginia and as far as the Goldsboro area. We want to personally thank all of the public safety agencies and community support since yesterday afternoon.”

Hinton said Taylor, who is part of the Advanced Criminal Enforcement unit which does drug interdiction work and traffic enforcement, remains in intensive care at Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville in stable but critical condition.

The Police Benevolent Association has established the John Taylor Foundation at BB&T to assist his family with travel and hotel expenses. Donations can be made at any BB&T, Hinton said.