Police: Missouri motel gunfight kills officer, gunman

In the forest, Md. – A police officer and a gunman were killed after a gunfight at a motel in eastern Missouri early Thursday morning, injuring another officer, authorities said.

Miss Dallas Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, told the Park Hills Daily Journal that Sister Tere’s officers were dispatched to a motel 6 at about 12:30 p.m.

As they approached the room where the chaos was reported, a man came out and fired at the officers with a handgun, the newspaper reported, and both officers were shot.

“It’s something that every officer is afraid of,” Thompson told KMOV-TV. “It’s always on their minds.”

Thompson said the man was killed when officers returned fire.

An officer was taken to hospital, and Sister Terre’s police chief, Doug Calvert, confirmed the officer was dead. Another officer was taken to a hospital where he underwent surgery for a gunshot wound to the leg, the newspaper said.

Bonne Terre is located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of St. Louis. The shots were fired at the instigation. Police did not immediately release details about the gunman.