A young southwest Missouri man has been shot to death by a Marionville police officer after the man shot and killed a motorist and shot and wounded the officer.
Marionville police and the State Highway Patrol are still trying to unravel exactly what occurred Friday afternoon. It appears 30-year-old Jesse Miller of Marionville shot to death 55-year-old Joseph Rich of Aurora after Rich stopped to help Miller, who had been in a traffic accident. Miller then began walking down the road toward Marionville carrying a shotgun. The patrol says Marionville Police Officer Andy Clark, responding to the traffic wreck, confronted Miller and demanded that he drop the weapon. Miller instead shot Clark in the neck. Clark returned fire, killing Miller.
State Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Mike Watson says Clark was conscious and talking to emergency personnel as he was taken to a Springfield hospital. The patrol reports Clark suffered moderate injuries in the gunfight. Clark had been with the Marionville Police Department for about a year.
Marionville police say they want the investigation to progress a little further before commenting more on the incident, including releasing more information about why it happened.
Updated 3/29/08 6am
