Two KC men charged after shooting, multi-county car chase

Two Kansas City men face charges in Callaway and Hickory counties after shooting a body shop employee, stealing a vehicle and leading police on a 150-mile car chase which ended with a gun battle.

Ryan A. Rummans, 33, and Ruben D. Harris, 34, both of Kansas City, are each charged with first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, resisting arrest and unlawful use of a weapon in Hickory County, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol. On Friday, the two men were also charged with felony counts of first-degree robbery, first-degree assault and first-degree armed criminal action in Callaway County.

The incident began shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday when Highway Patrol officers were called to an accident at the 137-mile marker of Interstate 70. Minutes later, the Callaway County Sheriff's Department reported a subject with a gunshot wound at RC Body Shop and Auto Sales in Millersburg.

According to Callaway County officials, Rummans and Harris abandoned their crashed, stolen vehicle on I-70 and entered the body shop where they allegedly shot an employee in the leg. The employee suffered non-threatening injuries and is in stable condition, said Callaway County Lt. Clay Chism.

"In the midst of the disturbance, a second employee fired shots at the suspects in self-defense," Chism said.

Rummans and Harris then stole a customer's vehicle from the shop and fled the scene.

A Miller County trooper spotted the stolen vehicle at 2:30 p.m. on U.S. 54 near Route W in Lake Ozark. When he tried to pull the suspect vehicle over, the driver fled.

As Rummans and Harris drove through Osage Beach, a police officer deployed a tire deflation device, and the vehicle hit the spikes.

"It briefly came to a stop at Route Y and U.S. 54 in Linn Creek," said Cpl. Scott White, Troop F spokesman. "However, the pursuit began again."

Approaching Camdenton, law enforcement officers followed the vehicle at a distance. The chase headed westbound through Camdenton and Macks Creek on U.S. 54 and entered Hickory County at about 3 p.m.

At least one of the vehicle's occupants fired several general gunshots at a civilian vehicle parked on the side of the road, according to the Camden County Sheriff's Office. Rummans and Harris then exchanged gunfire with law enforcement officers before wrecking the car in a roadside ditch. No law enforcement officers or individuals in the civilian car were injured.

Rummans and Harris were injured during the exchange of gunfire and were taken into custody by 3:13 p.m. Harris was transported to Lake Regional Hospital in Osage Beach for treatment and was held in Camden County jail with no bond. He will be remanded into the custody of Callaway County Sheriff's Office for further processing.

Rummans was taken to Mercy Hospital in Springfield under observation and was placed on a 24-hour hold.