Southwest Missouri Murders: 9 Found Dead After Shooting, Suicide
Seven people were fatally shot across south-central Missouri on Thursday night before the suspect took his own life, according to reports.
The victims were shot during multiple shootings in Texas County as well as south-central Missouri, the Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed. A ninth body of an elderly woman who apparently died of natural causes was found in a nearby home. The suspected shooter, a 36-year-old male, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his vehicle east of Texas County.
Authorities first received a call around 10:15 p.m. on Thursday by a female reporting gunshots at a residence, according to the Houston Herald. She fled to a neighbor's home and police later found two bodies there.
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Five more people were killed and one wounded in three different residences in Tyrone, the patrol confirmed. Furthermore, an elderly woman in a fourth residence was found dead of what appears to be natural causes, but it remains unknown what her relationship with the shooter or other victims was. The wounded victim was taken to a nearby hospital, and the patrol has not yet released any names.
"The investigation is continuing," said Sgt. Jeff Kinder, spokesperson for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, before directing anyone with information to the Texas County Sheriff Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
"In our job we see a lot of bad stuff, and this is bad," Kinder added during the press conference via CNN. "This is hard on the police officers out there. I'm sure they were just as shocked as a lot of the people were."
The crime occurred in a rural area of Missouri, thinly populated and near the Mark Twain National Forest. The Division of Drug and Crime Control of Missouri is also handling the case, but officials have denied knowledge that any drugs are involved in the crime.
