Trooper Remains in Critical Condition, Shooters Says He’s Sorry

A State Highway Patrol Trooper is in critical, but stable condition after being shot nine times early Saturday morning. The man charged in the shooting has apologized to the trooper’s family. Fellow troopers say it’s a miracle 27-year-old Brandon Brashear survived the shooting after stopping a car that had been driving erratically on I-470 in Lee’s Summit. Prosecutors accuse 25-year-old Tommy Rollins, Junior of shooting Brashear with a 9 millimeter assault rifle. Brashear staggered into the median of the interstate, unable to call for help. After dispatchers didn’t receive a return call from Brashear, other troopers raced to the scene. Brashear described his assailant before being taken to the hospital. Most of the shots hit Brashear’s bullet-proof vest. The Patrol declines to describe his injuries. Police arrested Rollins at an Independence pool hall about an hour after the shooting. After an arraignment on Sunday, reporters asked Rollins if he had anything to say to Brashear’s family. He said “I’m sorry. I’ve got a family of my own I’ll probably never see again so I’m hurtin’ too.”