-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram was shot and killed by a suspect in the 1100 block of South Minnesota Street on Wednesday night.

ALGONA — Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram, 33, was tragically shot and killed while attempting to serve an arrest warrant on Wednesday night.

“Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram died serving his community,” Iowa Department of Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens said during a press conference Thursday morning at the Kossuth County Election Center. “Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram answered the call to serve. Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram died because he chose to be a beacon of light. Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram died because he was willing to stand in the gap between good and evil. Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram died a hero.”

According to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Cram had located 43-year-old Kyle L. Ricke in the 1100 block of South Minnesota Street at about 7:30 p.m. last night. Ricke had an active arrest warrant for harassment out of Palo Alto County.

After Cram told Ricke he was there to arrest him, Ricke shot the officer and fled. Cram was located by law enforcement and emergency medical services quickly and transported to Kossuth Regional Health Center, where he was pronounced dead.

A massive manhunt for Ricke began immediately and he was eventually taken into custody near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, shortly before midnight. He has been charged with first-degree murder and will be extradited back to Kossuth County in the near future.

According to the criminal complaint against Ricke, Cram was serving an arrest warrant on Ricke when the suspect took a handgun and shot the officer. After shooting he allegedly yelled “Too late motherf—–“ and “I did it cause I am tired of this s—.”

Cram was a 10-year veteran of law enforcement, beginning his career in 2013 in Nora Springs. He joined the Algona Police Department in 2015.

“Kevin Cram was an outstanding police officer, but he was much more than that,” Bayens said. “More importantly, Kevin Cram was a dad. He was a husband. He was a son. He was a friend. Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram was murdered by a coward and I will not speak his name.”