BRANSON WEST, Mo. (AP) - A southwestern Missouri sheriff's deputy shot a suspected carjacker who had led police on a chase and reached for a gun, investigators said.
The shooting happened Monday morning near a Branson West grocery store, Springfield television station KYTV reported. The confrontation began earlier in the morning when Stone County sheriff's deputies responded to a 911 call about a stolen truck in Branson West. Arriving deputies found the 60-year-old truck owner with a gunshot wound, and he was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Around 11:20 a.m., another 911 call reported that the suspect was at a nearby campground. The suspect fled when deputies arrived, investigators said, and the chase continued for several minutes until the fleeing truck hit tire-puncturing strips near the entrance to the grocery store.
Investigators said the suspect then got out of the truck and reached for a gun, and a deputy shot him, hitting the man in the lower abdomen. Authorities have not released the name of the suspect, who was taken to a hospital in critical condition, or the name of the deputy.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating the deputy's shooting of the man.