Shooting Rampage Kills Officer, Injuries Three

By: Allison Nichols

ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI- A shooting rampage killed a police officer and the gunman and injured three others near 22^nd and Frederick Streets here yesterday.

The gunman fired at least seven bullets at the back of a police car before the shot went through the back window of his car and hit the officer in the back of the head.  The officer, Bradley Thomas Am, 28, was answering the call to the scene.

 An eyewitness who was driving by the scene saw the gunman’s fatal shot at the officer.  “I saw the officer fall to the left. He must have hit the accelerator because his car lurched forward and hit a boat in the parking lot,” said George Macfeat. 

The officer was responding to calls of aimless shooting by a gunman armed with a semi automatic assault rifle.

This is a rare incident in St. Joseph. “The last time an officer was shot in the line of duty was in 1984,” said Officer Connors. The last occasion that an officer was killed was in 1991 in a car accident. 

When calls of the shooting reached the St. Joseph Police Department, they reacted quickly and mobilized the entire department, police said.  “They did what they were trained to do,” said Officer Connors.

 “He may have started firing on 22^nd St. and Frederick, before heading south toward the Calvary Church,” said Officer Connors.

The motives of the gunman are unknown, police said.  Witnesses report that the shots seemed to be fired at random.  “I just don’t think he cared what was in front of his gun,” said Officer Connors.

 An eyewitness, Robert Liberty, heard gunshots and observed from outside of the Calvary Church.   “I saw a man with Mohawk and randomly firing shots,” said Liberty.

It is a somber time for the officers and the community.  “Having been through this before I can tell you, you go through first the shock, you then go through the anger stage.  Officers can meet with counselors if they want to; it’s tough on everybody,” said Officer Connors.

Police are investigating and finger-printing is being used to determine the identification of the gunman, who was not carrying ID, said police.  Police are also conducting an internal review of the officer who fired the final shot.

There will be a press conference at 10 a.m. tomorrow, police said.

Officer Bradley Thomas Am was killed by a random shooter.
(Photo courtesy of Google Images)

 

Officer Bradley Thomas Arn Memorial Page

Listen to a similar story of a random shooting in Britian: