Two Missouri sheriff’s deputies were killed Monday and two others wounded after a gunman opened fire on officers during a traffic stop and then fled into the woods, where he began shooting again, the Christian County sheriff’s office said.
The suspect, whom police identified as Richard Bird, 45, was shot and killed.
The officer who pulled Mr. Bird over for a traffic stop and was killed was Gabriel Ramirez, 30, who had joined the department last summer. The other officer, Michael Hislope, 40, who joined the department in 2019, was killed during the shootout in the woods south of Springfield. Both deputies had served in the Army.
“This terrible tragedy is yet another solemn reminder of the sacrifices law enforcement officers make to keep our communities safe,” Gov. Mike Kehoe of Missouri wrote on social media.
Mr. Bird had been served with a warrant earlier Monday for second-degree burglary, less than a week after he had been charged with receiving stolen property, according to court records. In the stolen property case, police officers found Mr. Bird with collectible coins, including Indian-head pennies, that were valued at about $2,000 and had been in a safe that was reported stolen.
He was also found with documents, which he had tried to dispose of by burning, according to a warrant for his arrest. He had posted $50,000 bail on Friday.
Mr. Bird, who has a lengthy criminal history, had served nearly a decade in prison in Kansas for attempted murder and other crimes after shooting at a policeman, according to court records. He was released in 2023, according to Department of Corrections records.
Monday’s shooting occurred on a state highway that bisects the mostly rural Christian County in the southwestern part of the state. Mr. Bird, driving a pickup, was pulled over by Deputy Ramirez at about 4 p.m. He shot and killed the officer, then fled before abandoning his truck, Sheriff Brad Cole told reporters early Tuesday morning.
A Missouri Highway Patrol helicopter using heat-sensing technology located Mr. Bird in the woods. When other officers approached, Mr. Bird opened fire, the sheriff said.
In addition to the deputies who were killed, two other deputies — one from Christian County and another from Webster County — were shot and injured, Sheriff Cole said. Their wounds were not expected to be life-threatening, he added.
The deputies’ deaths rocked the Christian County Sheriff’s Department, which has about 30 patrol officers and about 140 employees overall, according to Kathy Thimesch, an executive administrator with the agency. She was not aware of another officer at the department ever having been killed in the line of duty.
Kirsten Noyes contributed research.
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