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Shooting at Missouri Gas Station Leaves 5 Dead, Including Police Officer and Attacker
Shooting at Missouri Gas Station Leaves 5 Dead, Including Police Officer and Attacker
(about 11 hours later)
A shooting spree that spanned nearly five miles across a Missouri city ended with a car crash and a rampage at a gas station on Sunday night, leaving five people dead, including a police officer and the attacker, the authorities said.
A shooting that spanned about five miles across a Missouri city ended with a car crash and a rampage at a gas station Sunday night, leaving five people dead including a police officer and the attacker, the authorities said.
The police in Springfield, Mo., said Monday that they first received a call about a shooting at 11:24 p.m. Sunday, in the southeast area of the city, about 220 miles southwest of St. Louis.
The police in Springfield, Mo., said Monday morning that they first received a call about a shooting at 11:24 p.m. Sunday, in the southeast area of the city, about 220 miles southwest of St. Louis.
While officers were responding, more reports followed about shootings at other locations, and at about 11:43 p.m., a call came in about an incident at a Kum & Go gas station and convenience store on East Chestnut Expressway, near Highway 65.
While officers were responding, more reports followed about shootings at northern locations, and at about 11:43 p.m., a call came in at the Kum & Go gas station and convenience store on East Chestnut Highway, near Interstate 65.
“In essence, we had a roving active shooter moving from the South Side of the city up,” Chief Paul Williams of the Springfield Police Department said at a news conference on Monday. Chief Williams said later in an email that there was no discernible motive and that the investigation was ongoing.
“In essence, we had a roving active shooter moving from the south side of the city up,” Chief Paul Williams of the Springfield Police Department said in a news conference Monday.
Callers told the police that a car had crashed at the scene and that someone with a gun had entered the store and started shooting the people inside.
Callers told the police that a car had crashed at the scene and that someone with a gun had entered the store and started shooting customers and employees.
When the first two police officers arrived at the scene, they were immediately fired on from inside the store, the police said. Both officers, Christopher Walsh and Josiah Overton, were injured.
The first two officers who arrived at the scene, Christopher Walsh and Josiah Overton, were “immediately fired upon by the suspect,” Chief Williams said in a statement. Both officers were injured.
Other responding officers removed Officers Walsh and Overton from the scene, and when the police made their way into the store, they found the attacker dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Chief Williams said.
When more officers arrived, they removed Officers Walsh and Overton. The police then made their way into the store, and found the attacker dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
They also found three other people shot dead. The police identified them as Troy D. Rapp, 57, an employee of Kum & Go; Shannon R. Perkins, 46, an employee of the WCA Waste Corporation; and Matthew J. Hicks-Morris, 22, a customer. A fourth person was injured and in critical condition at Mercy Hospital on Monday afternoon, the police said in a statement.
They also found three other people dead and another person with a bullet wound. That person was taken to a hospital, and their condition is unknown.
Officer Walsh died at a hospital. Officer Overton was treated for an injury that was not life-threatening, and remained in the hospital on Monday afternoon, the police said.
Officer Walsh died at a hospital. Officer Overton was treated for a non-life-threatening injury.
The police identified the suspect as Joaquin Roman, 31. Jasmine Bailey, a spokeswoman for the Springfield Police Department, said that the police did not yet know what might have motivated the gunman, but that they believed the attacker was shooting at different locations while heading north toward the gas station.
The police did not identify the other victims or give any details about the attacker, including sex. Jasmine Bailey, a spokeswoman for the Springfield Police Department, said the police did not yet know what may have motivated the shooter, but believed the attacker was shooting at different locations while heading north toward the gas station.
“We are still actively investigating multiple crime scenes and dealing with grieving over the loss of one of our own,” Chief Williams said.
“We are still actively investigating multiple crime scenes and dealing with grieving over the loss of one of our own,” Chief Williams said.
Mr. Roman pleaded guilty to three traffic violations in 2019 and was charged with a fourth traffic violation in February, according to court records.
One of the victims was an employee of Kum & Go, the company said. “There are no words to express the shock and sorrow many of us are feeling,” a spokesman, Ariel Rubin, said on Monday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, and their friends and families.”
A spokesman for Kum & Go confirmed that one of victims, Mr. Rapp, was an employee. “There are no words to express the shock and sorrow many of us are feeling,” the spokesman, Ariel Rubin, said on Monday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, and their friends and families.”
Officer Overton, 25, has been with the Springfield Police Department for two years. Officer Walsh, 32, a U.S. Army veteran who was active with the Army Reserves, had served with the department for three and half years, the police said.
Mr. Rapp’s daughter Bailey Rapp wrote in a post on Facebook on Monday that she was devastated. Mr. Rapp had been working at the Kum & Go for only about a month, she said. “I miss you more than words can explain,” she wrote.
“Both of these officers showed significant bravery and were heroic in their actions,” Chief Williams said.
Officer Overton, 25, has been with the Springfield Police Department for two years.
Officer Walsh, 32, had served with the department since 2016 and was assigned as a patrol officer. He was a Springfield native and an Army veteran, and had been active with the Army Reserves for 10 years, the department said.
“Chris died a hero, rushing in without regard to his own safety to protect members of his community,” Chief Williams said. “His courageous actions serve as an example to us all.”
The mayor of Springfield, Ken McClure, offered his “deepest sympathy to the families of Officer Chris Walsh and three citizens who lost their lives in the senseless shooting.”
The mayor of Springfield, Ken McClure, offered his “deepest sympathy to the families of Officer Chris Walsh and three citizens who lost their lives in the senseless shooting.”
He added: “We are indebted and very grateful for our officers who exhibit extreme bravery for our protection. Officer Walsh made the ultimate sacrifice.”
He added, ”We are indebted and very grateful for our officers who exhibit extreme bravery for our protection. Officer Walsh made the ultimate sacrifice.”
The shooting took place in a neighborhood with a mix of businesses, including a strip mall, a container store, fast-food restaurants and some residences to the south.
An employee at Hair Design, a shop near the scene of the shooting, said police were still outside the Kum & Go on Monday afternoon and that the area had been cordoned off. “I’ve never heard of anything like that before,” said the employee, who declined to give her name. She said she generally feels safe working in the area.
Springfield, a city of about 168,000 people in Greene County, was, like most of the country on Monday, bracing for the coronavirus outbreak. The county had three reported cases as of Monday, and city leaders held an emergency meeting around midday to discuss measures recommended by the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention.
