CLINTON, MO. (AP) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol says a person of interest in the shooting death of a western Missouri police officer is now considered a suspect.
The search continues Monday for 39-year-old Ian McCarthy of Clinton. Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe says McCarthy is suspected in the shooting of 37-year-old Clinton police officer Gary Michael during a traffic stop late Sunday.
The car Michael stopped before he was shot is registered to McCarthy.
Court records indicate McCarthy pleaded guilty in November 2013 in Missouri to a misdemeanor driving without a valid license.
In July 2015 he was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm. Court records don’t indicate the outcome of that case.
Authorities searched a home but came up empty-handed in the hunt for McCarthy.
Police say that the driver jumped out of the car and fired at the officer, who was able to return fire.
The suspect drove about three blocks before crashing his car and fleeing on foot. Lowe says Michael was “heroic right to the end.”
Michael was a lifelong resident of Clinton and leaves behind a wife and stepsons.
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