BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP) — A police officer and a gunman died following a shootout early Thursday at a motel in eastern Missouri that left another officer wounded, authorities said.
Bonne Terre Officer Lane Burns and Cpl. Garrett Worley were dispatched to a reported disturbance at a Motel 6 about 12:30 a.m., Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesperson Dallas Thompson told The Associated Press.
As they approached the room where the disturbance was reported, a man came out firing a handgun, shooting both officers, Thompson said. The officers returned fire, killing the man, who was identified by Thompson as James Emery, 21, of St. Louis.
“We’re still trying to piece together what he was doing in Bonne Terre,” Thompson said. “We don’t know if was just passing through for the night or if he was staying in the area for some reason.”
Burns, 30, was taken to an area hospital, where he later died, Thompson said. Worley, 28, was flown via medical helicopter to a St. Louis trauma center, where he was undergoing surgery for a gunshot wound to the leg, Thompson said. Thompson did not know Worley’s medical condition.
“This is something that every officer fears,” Thompson had told KMOV-TV in the hours after the shooting. “They always have that in the back of their mind.”
Burns had been with the Bonne Terre department for five years, Thompson said, and Worley was a seven-year veteran of the department.
Bonne Terre is located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of St. Louis. The shooting was under investigation.
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