Missouri officer killed, another wounded in shooting at convenience store

A Missouri police officer has been killed and a second officer is badly wounded after a taking pictures at a small-town comfort retailer. The suspect barricaded himself in a house throughout the road from the place the taking pictures passed off, CBS affiliate KMOV-TV reported. 

The taking pictures at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday killed Detective Sgt. Mason Griffith, the Hermann Police Division stated.

Authorities haven’t launched the title of the injured officer. The Missouri State Freeway Patrol stated the injured officer was in severe however steady situation at a hospital.

The patrol has not launched details about what led to the taking pictures. It wasn’t clear if the officers returned fireplace. 

The patrol recognized the suspect as 35-year-old Kenneth Lee Simpson of St. Louis County, who bought away.

The St. Louis Publish-Dispatch reported Monday that police are focusing their seek for Simpson on a house alongside Freeway 19 close to Hermann. KMOV reporter Alex Gaul was on the scene and noticed troopers shifting towards the home with flashbangs and Okay-9 officers.

Police surrounded the house and yelled for him to return outdoors. Officers earlier searched close to a motel in Hermann, the place the Publish-Dispatch stated Simpson and his girlfriend might have rented a room Sunday.

On-line Missouri court docket data present Simpson has a protracted historical past of prison fees involving medication, weapons offenses, assault and property harm. A St. Louis County choose issued a warrant for Simpson’s arrest in August when he failed to indicate up in court docket in a drug possession case.

Simpson has been on the run from authorities since April 2022, KMOV reported.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson tweeted condolences to the fallen officer’s household.

“Hermann Police Division Detective Sergeant Mason Griffith won’t ever be forgotten, and Missouri will at all times be grateful,” Parson tweeted. “Teresa and I are praying for Mason’s household, associates, and fellow regulation enforcement officers.”

Hermann is a city of about 2,100 residents, about 80 miles west of St. Louis. It’s the county seat of Gasconade County.