DOOLITTLE, Mo. (AP) - Witnesses are describing a deadly shooting in southwest Missouri as self-defense, authorities say.
Phelps County deputies talked to six eyewitnesses to the Jan. 16 shooting in Dolittle in which Donny Mason was killed and another man suffered a leg wound, Sheriff Sheriff Michael Kirn said in a news release that was posted Monday on Facebook.
The release said the witnesses reported that Mason drew a pistol first and approached the other man with his gun pointed at him. That's when the other man drawn his pistol and the two began shooting at one another, the witnesses said.
Mason, who was from Rolla, was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene. The second man was treated at a hospital and then spent 24 hours in jail before he was released.
The sheriff's office is waiting for a forensic evidence analysis to be completed before submitting the findings of the investigation to the prosecutor's office to determine if charges will be filed.