A man on death row for the fatal shooting of a police officer with Seminole roots has died.

Byron Shepard, who was sentenced to death in November 2019 for the murder of Tecumseh Police Officer Justin Terney, died early Tuesday morning in a hospital. Officials with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections say no physical injury or trauma was observed and the state medical examiner will determine the cause of death.

Shepard had been incarcerated in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. He was set to be executed in early 2020 but the execution was postponed.

On March 26, 2017 Justin Terney, the son of former Seminole resident Michael Terney, was conducting a traffic stop near South Cooper Drive and Benson Park Road when a male passenger in the vehicle took off on foot. Terney had radioed dispatch to check for outstanding warrants when the passenger fled.

Officer Terney pursued the man, later identified as Shepard, into a nearby wooded area and deployed his taser, but it had no effect on him. Shepard then drew a weapon and shot Terney three times. Terney was able to return fire, striking Shepard numerous times.

Terney was transported to the Oklahoma University Trauma Center in Oklahoma City for surgery, where he later died from his wounds. Shepard also underwent surgery and spent time in the ICU.

The driver of the vehicle, Brooklyn Danielle Williams, was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison. She is in the Mable Bassett Correctional Center in McCloud.

Terney had served with the Tecumseh Police Department for only one year when he was shot. He attended high school in Canadian, Okla. and college at Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton. Terney was also a volunteer firefighter in Pittsburgh County.