Month: April 2023

The Christian County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred Friday evening.

Christian County Sheriff Brad Cole says a man and woman were involved in a domestic violence incident at the Christian County Courthouse on the Ozark Square.

The man shot the woman, and a deputy came out of the courthouse and shot the man.

The man and woman were taken to a hospital.

The sheriff confirmed that the suspect has died from his injuries.

The deputy was not injured.

One of the two suspects in the high-profile death of Cassidy Rainwater is entering into a plea deal.

Prosecutors say James Phelps entered an Alford plea this week on charges of first-degree murder and abandonment of a corpse.

An Alford plea is when a suspect does not admit their guilt, but acknowledge that the evidence against them is strong enough to get a conviction.

Phelps and his co-defendant, Timothy Norton, allegedly kidnapped Rainwater and kept her in a cage before killing her in the summer of 2021.

The judge in Phelps’ case sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Police are investigating where a threatening phone call originated that caused Buffalo schools to go into an early morning lockdown.

Investigators say a teacher with the district received a phone call, threatening to “shoot up the Dallas County schools.”

The caller allegedly spoke with a heavy foreign accent.

Authorities arrived at the school and did a sweep of the building, clearing the buildings at around 8:30 a.m.

Buffalo Superintendent Tim Ryan said they tracked the phone call, and gave the information to law enforcement.

Further information about the incident, including the possible identity of the caller, has not been released at this time.

Authorities in Texas County are looking for a man who tried to abduct a young girl Thursday morning.

Summersville police say the girl was walking down fifth street, when a man asked if he could give her a ride. The girl declined and kept walking. The man persisted until the girl ran for help at a nearby house. He then drove away.

He is in his mid-20’s with a goatee and driving a light-tan, four-door car with a sticker in the window reading “Just Married.”

Transgender activists in Southwest Missouri are protesting and pushing back against Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s emergency rule that would limit transgender medical treatments.

The rule was originally going to take effect sooner, but a St. Louis area judge put it on pause until Monday, May 1st at 5 p.m. to allow time for a permenant judgement.

Activist from the local “Party for Socialism and Liberation” are traveling to Jeff City over the weekend to protest the ruling.

Two people were injured Thursday when an S-U-V crashed through the window of the Panera Bread location near the M-S-U campus.

Springfield Police say the crash happened around 4 pm.

The S-U-V was entirely inside the restaurant.

Nobody inside the restaurant was injured.

Police are not sure what caused the crash.

Part of National Avenue had to be closed while police investigated the crash.

Investigators in Springfield are trying to identify a suspect after dozens of shots were fired in west Springfield.

Police were called to the area of West Brower Street and North Marion Avenue on April 18, for a report of shots fired.

Officers say there were dozens of gunshots that hit the house and several cars, but no one was injured.

The shooting came 24 hours after a teenager was shot and killed in the same area just a few blocks away.

Police are still determining if the two shootings could be connected, and no suspects have been released at this time.

There were more than 30 shell casings found at the scene.

Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts in Springfield will host five broadway musicals in the upcoming season.

The shows are “Come from Away,” “Jesus Christ Super Star,” “Mean Girls,” “Shreck the Musical,” and “Pretty Woman the Musical.”

Executive Director Keith Boaz says three of the productions have never been to Southwest Missouri.

Springfield Police are investigating a stabbing outside a restaurant.

Officers responded to the parking lot of the Purple Burrito on South Campbell around 6 pm Wednesday.

The police found the victim with non-life-threatening injuries but say the suspect fled the scene.

Police say the suspect and victim knew each other.

Many of the restaurant’s customers gave the police eyewitness reports.