A Missouri police officer was killed and two other officers were wounded Tuesday night after a shooter opened fire from inside a home — at least the 18th officer to have died in the line of duty since the start of 2018.
The suspected shooter was found dead inside the home, located about 75 miles outside Kansas City, Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe said at a news conference early Wednesday.
Clinton County 911 center received a call late Tuesday where two women could be heard screaming in the background. Clinton police officers responded to the home and were met with gunfire.
Lowe said the unidentified suspect shot the officers from inside the home. The officers went inside to try and apprehend the suspect, who then shot and killed an officer, identified as Christopher Ryan Morton, 30, and wounded two other officers.
Update: Officer Involved Shooting in Clinton Two officers remain hospitalized, one listed with minor injuries and one with moderate injuries, both sustained from gunfire by the suspect. Joint investigation is ongoing by @MSHPTrooperDDCC #ClintonPD & Henry Co Sheriff’s Dept.
— MSHP Troop A (@MSHPTrooperA) March 7, 2018
It’s unclear how the suspect died.
The wounded officers, who were not identified, were taken to the hospital. One suffered minor injuries and the other had moderate injuries, police said.
It is the second Clinton police officer to die in the line of duty in the last seven months, according to local media.
“It’s a small department,” Lowe said. “It’s small enough that you know each individual officer and the community knows each individual officer, and it’s hard to put into words when you’re talking about an agency of this size, a community of this size where something tragic like this happened just seven months ago.”
At least 18 officers across the United States have died while on duty. At least 14 of the deaths were caused by gunfire.
