Missouri policeman killed in shootout; suspect also dies

Three officers were shot, one fatally, Tuesday night in Clinton, Missouri.

Credit: Scott Olson

Credit: Scott Olson

Three officers were shot, one fatally, Tuesday night in Clinton, Missouri.

A Missouri police officer was killed and two others were injured Tuesday night when they responded to a 911 call in Clinton, WDAF reported.

A suspect in the shooting also died, The Kansas City Star reported. Police said the shooter was found dead inside the home where the 911 call originated, WDAF reported.

Officer Christoper Ryan Morton, 30, was fatally shot in the incident, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The other two officers have not been identified.

Tuesday’s incident occurred seven months after Clinton police officer Gary Michael was shot to death during a traffic stop, the Star reported.

Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe said Clinton County 911 dispatchers received a call at 9:20 p.m. Tuesday. The phone line was left open, and dispatchers could hear two women screaming in the background, WDAF reported.

Lowe said that shortly after officers arrived on the scene, they were shot at from the suspect who retreated inside the house, the Star reported. The policemen entered the residence house, and all three received bullet wounds from the shooter, WDAF reported.

A Missouri Highway Patrol SWAT team entered the house at 12:10 a.m. and the suspect was found dead, the Star reported.

Lowe said the two women heard in the 911 call were not injured.

The injured officers underwent treatment for gunshot wounds -- one in the arm and the other in the shoulder, CNN reported.

Lowe said Morton had been with the Clinton Police Department “for a while.”

“It’s just another tragic event for this community and especially this police department. They’ve endured a lot. They’re going to endure more,” Lowe said. “It’s a small department. 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.”