Authorities in Joplin identified Cpl. Benjamin Cooper as the officer killed Tuesday afternoon in an encounter with a gunman.
The gunman was also killed in the incident. Two Joplin police officers were also injured. One officer remains in critical condition and the other is in stable condition, Joplin Police Chief Sloan Rowland said at a news conference Wednesday morning, which was livestreamed by The Joplin Globe.
Rowland identified the suspect as 40-year-old Anthony R. Felix, of Joplin.
"This was a violent and unwarranted attack on our officers and is indicative of the rise in violence against law enforcement officers we are witnessing nationwide," Rowland said.
Cooper worked with Joplin in 2003 before joining a sheriff's department in Colorado. He returned to the Joplin Police Department in 2013 and was promoted to corporal in 2016, Rowland said. He had a wife and two daughters.
Several law enforcement agencies throughout the Kansas City area expressed support on social media for Joplin police.
"We hurt for Corporal Benjamin Cooper, the wounded officers, and all our brothers and sisters at the Joplin Police Department," the Kansas City Police Department said on Twitter. "Our hearts are with all of you and your families."
On Tuesday, Assistant Chief Brian Lewis said officers were first called around 1:30 p.m. to a disturbance involving an armed man near the intersection of Fourth Street and Range Line Road. Two officers were attempting to arrest the man when he shot them and stole a police cruiser, Lewis said.
Other officers chased the stolen patrol vehicle, which led to a car wreck. The man then fled on foot to Ninth Street and Connecticut Avenue, roughly a mile from the original shooting, where he encountered more police officers.
The man allegedly fired at officers again, injuring one, before another officer returned fire, hitting the suspect multiple times and fatally striking him, Rowland said Wednesday.
The identities of the two other officers who were injured have not released.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol is conducting the investigation.
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