A police chase following a shooting at a Livingston school came to an abrupt halt in Demopolis when the suspect’s SUV crashed into the rear of a stopped tractor-trailer at the intersection of U.S. Highway 80 and Walnut Avenue on Wednesday.

Telvin Gray, 32, of Forkland is a suspect in the shooting of his wife, Satarrick Gray, as she was leaving her job as a special education teacher at Livingston High School. According to Sumter County Schools superintendent Dr. Fred Primm Jr., Satarrick Gray had worked in the school system for seven years and at the high school for two or three years.

The shooting is reported to have taken place outside of Livingston High School on Wednesday at about 3 p.m. before school let out for the day. Witnesses said that a man shot Satarrick Gray twice, and after she fell to the ground, shot her twice again at point-blank range.

Satarrick Gray was taken by ambulance to Hill Medical Center in York, where she later died.

The school immediately went into lockdown, and a “be on the lookout” bulletin was issued by law enforcement officials, describing the suspect as driving a burgundy Dodge Durango with no license plate, naming Telvin Gray as the suspect. The bulletin said the vehicle was eastbound on Ala. Highway 28.

An Alabama State Trooper responding to the bulletin saw the vehicle pull into the Demopolis WalMart parking lot minutes later and followed it.

A chase ensued, with the vehicle reportedly striking another vehicle on U.S. Highway 80 soon after leaving the parking lot. The Durango later crashed into the back of a tractor-trailer that was stopped at the red light at the intersection of U.S. 80 and Walnut Avenue.

Telvin Gray was removed from his vehicle using the “Jaws of Life” and was transported to Bryan W. Whitfield Memorial Hospital, where he was recovering from injuries. He was formally charged with murder Thursday afternoon.

Gray is currently in the Sumter County Jail being held on a $75,000 bond.

The Alabama Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation with assistance from the Demopolis and Livingston police departments and the Marengo County and Sumter County sheriff’s offices.

Livingston High School was closed Thursday and Friday. Primm praised personnel at the high school for their fast action.

“I want to commend the administration, the teachers and the students,” he said.

“They did an outstanding job in a situation like this. We went into a lockdown procedure mode where students are locked in the classroom and our teachers know exactly what to do. They did a phenomenal job. We were able to release the students shortly after the incident occurred, and the students did a phenomenal job. They have a part in this, too, in terms of making sure they stay in the classroom and making sure they do the things they need to do. I think, all in all, they did a marvelous job.”

Primm added that no one else was injured in the assault.

Livingston Police Chief Ashley Welborn confirmed Friday that a weapon was recovered and had been turned into the Alabama Bureau of Investigation (ABI) for forensic test.

Jason Cannon and Sumter County Record-Journal publisher Tommy McGraw contributed to this report.