by HERMANN, Mo. — A Missouri police officer was fatally shot and a second officer critically wounded in a nighttime shooting followed by an apparent confrontation between police and the suspect, authorities said.
The Missouri Highway Patrol announced early Monday that Detective Sgt. mason griffith of the Hermann Police Department died of his injuries at a hospital after being shot at a convenience store in the small town around 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
The highway patrol said a second Hermann officer who was shot remains hospitalized in serious condition. Highway patrol spokesman Cpl. Kyle Green told the Fox affiliate KTVI of St. Louis, the injured officer was taken to a city hospital for treatment.
Authorities have not released details describing what led up to the shooting or whether officers returned fire.
nbc affiliate KSDK of St. Louis reported that highway patrol identified the suspect in the shooting as Kenneth Lee Simpson, 35, of Eureka, Missouri, and that police were involved in an apparent pursuit near a home in Hermann along the highway 19, not far from the convenience store where the shooting occurred.
Police surrounded the house and yelled at the suspected gunman to come out. Earlier, officers had searched near a motel in Hermann, where Simpson and his girlfriend may have rented a room on Sunday, the Post-Dispatch reported.
Missouri online court records show Simpson faced prior criminal charges related to drugs, weapons offenses, assault and property damage. A St. Louis County judge issued a warrant for his arrest in August when Simpson failed to appear in court in a drug possession case, the Post-Dispatch reported.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson offered his condolences to the family of the slain officer.
“Hermann Police Department Detective Sergeant Mason Griffith will never be forgotten, and Missouri will always be grateful,” Parson said. tweeted. “Teresa and I are praying for Mason’s family, friends and fellow police officers.”
Hermann, located about 40 miles west of St. Louis, is the county seat of Gasconade County and has a population of approximately 2,100.
