( CNN ) -- Two police officers were fatally shot and another two were wounded Thursday in two separate shootings allegedly by the same suspects in West Memphis , Arkansas , police said . The two suspects , who were using an assault weapon , were themselves fatally shot , said Inspector Bert Shelton , who is assigned to city hall for the West Memphis Police Department . The incident began around 11:36 a.m. ( 12:36 p.m . ET ) , when West Memphis patrolman Bill Evans made a traffic stop on a white minivan traveling eastbound on I-40 at Airport Road , said Bill Sadler , public information officer for the Arkansas State Police . After the vehicle exited the Interstate onto an off-ramp near College Avenue , Sgt . Brandon Paudert arrived on the scene as backup , Sadler said . `` It is our belief that Officer Evans was shoved to the ground by one of the suspects in the minivan and gunfire was directed at both officers , '' Sadler said . The suspects then fled , driving east in the minivan , leaving one man dead and the other fatally wounded . Within minutes , officers from other agencies -- including the Arkansas State Police and the Arkansas Fish and Game Commission -- began to converge on the area , looking for the suspects , he said . About 90 minutes later , a minivan believed to be the one that had been seen leaving the shooting site was spotted in a parking lot of a nearby Wal-Mart , Sadler said . There , it was approached by Crittenden County Sheriff Dick Busby and Chief Enforcement Officer W.A . Wren , who were traveling in the same vehicle , he said . Both men were wounded in a gunbattle initiated by the suspects , who were using a long rifle and a handgun , Sadler said . The gunbattle ended after `` a very brave , young wildlife officer in his state truck rammed the suspect vehicle , preventing an exit of the suspects , '' who were killed , Sadler said . Both wounded officers were taken to Regional Medical Center at Memphis , where they were in critical condition , said hospital spokeswoman Vivian Crawford . Authorities would not identify the suspects , saying doing so could affect the integrity of the investigation . Paudert was the son of Police Chief Bob Paudert , said West Memphis Police Department Assistant Chief Mike Allen . Both of the dead officers leave widows and young children , he said . Paudert was 39 , Evans was 38 . The FBI 's evidence-response team was among the agencies involved in the investigation . In a statement posted on his website , Arkansas Gov . Mike Beebe said Paudert and Evans `` died upholding their duty to serve and protect the residents of West Memphis . '' He added , `` This is a loss shared by all Arkansans . '' A woman who answered the phone at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in West Memphis said the store , which is usually open round the clock , was closed after the incidents , and that store officials hoped to reopen by midnight ( 1 a.m . ET ) .
In West Memphis , Arkansas , officers killed in two shootings . Attacks left two other officers wounded . Two officers confronted in Wal - Mart parking lot , both killed in the exchange . Dead officers include West Memphis police chief 's son .