Officers searching for man who shot at Benton deputy

WARSAW — Police are looking for a man who shot at a Benton County deputy and injured a K-9.

The man began shooting at the deputy about 9:30 p.m. Sunday as the officer had completed a traffic stop on Commercial Street.

“He was finishing up his car stop. The car drove away and he heard two shots fired in his direction” from the side of the street as he was walking back to his patrol car, said Benton County Sheriff Rick Fajen.

Deputy Randall Mathews and his K-9, Brix, chased the suspect into a wooded area off state Route 7 in Warsaw.

Mathews exchanged several rounds of gunfire with the suspect. The dog was struck in the shoulder by a piece of shrapnel, but is expected to recover. Mathews was uninjured. He fired nine rounds and was placed on administrative leave, which is standard operating procedure following an officer-related shooting.

The incident resulted in a manhunt that lasted into the early morning hours Monday. Parts of state Route 7 and several Warsaw city streets were blocked to traffic. Several businesses were locked down until the area was cleared.

“We are pretty confident with the way the search went he is not in the area,” Fajen said.

Officers from Henry, Pettis and Hickory counties, the Warsaw Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri Water Patrol and the Missouri Department of Conservation participated in the search. Authorities cordoned off and searched an area where the suspect was last seen. Those who live in the area noticed helicopters were used as part of the search. The organized search ended early Monday morning.

Officers are continuing to investigate the incidents. Fajen said they are unsure what prompted the shooting and whether it was related to the traffic stop.

“We don’t know at this point,” he said. “We also know of a report of gunfire in the area just before this.”
Officers are in the process of finding out more about the first shooting. The highway patrol is assisting with the investigation.

Officers are looking for a man between 6-foot-3-inches and 6-foot-5-inches tall with light-colored hair and a thin build wearing blue jeans and a black, hooded sweatshirt.

Few in Warsaw knew Monday afternoon the details of the shooting Sunday night. Calvin and Earlene Dunsmore live near where the shots were first fired. At first, Calvin Dunsmore thought it was maybe a deer poacher but then a neighbor called to alert the couple to the activity she heard on her police scanner. The Dunsmores stayed inside and made sure their doors were locked.

“We don’t have that much violence around here,” Earlene Dunsmore said.

“Whatever happened here last night might not ever happen again,” Calvin Dunsmore said.

Steve Squires was conscious of Sunday night’s search near his home as he went about his activities Monday.

Squires lives in Sunchase Estates, which is near the area where officers lost sight of the suspect. He and others in the neighborhood turned on every outside light.

“We didn’t sleep too good last night,” Squires said.

The manhunt has made Squires and his family more aware of taking precautions. Squires made sure to walk his wife to her car in the morning and instructed everyone in his home to be diligent about locking doors.

“We’re locking all our doors, which we normally do anyway,” Squires said.

People with information about the shooting are asked to call Benton County dispatch at 660-438-5252.