Warsaw man killed in police shooting after reported kidnapping in Bates County
A man shot and killed by Bates County, Missouri, law enforcement officers after allegedly abducting and shooting a woman has been identified.
The Cass County Sheriff’s Office, which is leading the investigation, said Monday that Donald L. Hunter, 39, of Warsaw, was the man who shot the woman on Sunday night, leaving her with serious injuries.
Officers then returned gunfire, striking and killing him, the Bates County Sheriff’s Office said earlier in a news release.
The man reportedly kidnapped the woman from her work in Butler, forcing her into her car at gunpoint about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the Bates County Sheriff’s Office.
She recently had filed for an order of protection preventing the man from being around her, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies and a police officer spotted the vehicle headed north on Interstate 49 and attempted to stop it.
Eventually, the vehicle pulled over and the woman exited. As she walked toward officers, a man, later identified as Hunter, got out of the back seat and shot the woman in the face, according to the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office said officers then returned fire, “preventing any additional shots at the female.”
Hunter died at the scene.
The woman was taken to a hospital and later released.
Two Bates County deputies and one Adrian police officer were placed on routine administrative leave while the shooting was being investigated, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The Cass County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation as part of the Western Missouri Sheriff’s Critical Incident Investigation Team.
Gun violence will be the subject of a new, statewide journalism project The Star is undertaking in Missouri this year in partnership with the national service program Report for America.
As part of this project, The Star will seek the community’s help. To contribute, visit Report for America online at reportforamerica.org.
