Update: The state police said a suspect was being held in connection with the Newport, Arkansas, officer's death.

NEWPORT, Ark. -- A police officer has been shot and killed in a small northeastern Arkansas town, and manhunt is underway for the suspect.

The shooting was reported about 7:30 p.m. Monday in Newport, about 90 miles northeast of Little Rock. According to an Arkansas State Police statement, 41-year-old Newport police Lt. Patrick Weatherford died shortly afterward at an area hospital. State Police say Weatherford was a 15-year department veteran.

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Arkansas State Police have taken the lead in the investigation but haven't named a suspect yet, reports CBS Little Rock affiliate KTHV-TV.

The station says Weatherford graduated from the FBI National Academy Program in 2016, according to the Newport Independent. He was one of only three law enforcement officers from Newport to be selected for the program.

Condolences to the Weatherford family, Newport Police Department and each life touched by Lt. Weatherford pic.twitter.com/mDaYo7Ktwk — Little Rock Police (@LRpolice) June 13, 2017

"We have the same challenges in Newport as they have in New York City," he told the Newport Independent in April of 2016. "We have the same challenges as they have in South Korea."

The Newport Independent also reported that Weatherford was working on obtaining his Master's Degree in Criminal Justice at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.