A Missouri sheriff's deputy was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop Monday, leading to a massive manhunt. Hours later, a second deputy died in a gunfight with the suspect, who was also killed.
HIGHLANDVILLE, Mo. — A routine traffic stop in Missouri turned deadly Monday when a gunman killed one sheriff’s deputy and later fatally shot another during an intense manhunt that involved more than 100 law enforcement officers.
Christian County Sheriff Brad Cole told reporters the violence began when a deputy conducted a traffic stop south of Highlandville in southwestern Missouri on Monday. The deputy was shot and killed during the encounter.
A massive search operation followed, with approximately 100 officers, deputies and state troopers joining the hunt for the gunman, according to Cole. Federal agents from the U.S. Marshals Service, FBI and ATF also participated in the search.
Investigators discovered the shooter’s abandoned pickup truck several miles south near Reeds Spring, Cole reported. Officers then focused their search on the surrounding area.
In the early morning hours Tuesday, thermal imaging equipment detected a heat signature in nearby woods, prompting deputies to move in. Cole said the gunman immediately began shooting, hitting three law enforcement officers.
The gunfire killed one Christian County deputy and wounded two others from Christian and Webster counties, though their injuries are not life-threatening, Cole explained. Officers at the scene fired back, killing the suspect.
Sheriff Cole named the deputy killed in the original traffic stop as Deputy Gabriel Ramirez.
“Deputy Ramirez was always kind to everybody,” Cole said. “He was always a friend, was always there for anybody who needed a shoulder to lean on.”