BREAKING: Ellwood City Man Shot by Police

This morning, I-376, one of the most commonly traveled routes in the area, was closed while helicopters and police were investigating an incident.

Shawn Hobel, 34, of Ellwood City was shot by police officials and is undergoing surgery after leading several Lawrence County police departments on a chase.

According to reports, the chase started around 3:30a.m., when Hobel -who had a woman passenger in the car- did not stop for Shenango Township officers attempting to pull him over for a traffic violation.

The chase finally came to a halt on I-376 in Union Township after Hobel managed to lead officers from Lawrence County to Butler and then back to Lawrence.

While Hobel had a gun pointed at the head of the woman passenger, a New Castle police officer open fired, hitting Hobel multiple times.

Hobel is a suspect for several armed robberies around New Castle, and now will be facing several charges in regards to the chase.

The woman is uninjured and currently not being charged.

Updates to follow.