Police officer killed, another wounded in shootout at Motel 6, Missouri cops say
_fitted.png "A Missouri police officer was killed and another wounded in a shooting at a Motel 6, officials said. The officer, Lane Burns, leaves behind a fiance and a daughter.")
A Missouri police officer is dead and another wounded after a suspect opened fire on them at a Motel 6 in Bonne Terre, police told news outlets.
The officers — Lane Burns, 30, and Garrett Worley, 28 — were responding to a call about a disturbance in one of the motel rooms around 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 17, outlets reported.
As Burns and Worley neared the door, a man came out shooting, Missouri State Highway Patrol told the Associated Press. The officers returned fire, killing the suspect, later identified as 21-year-old James Emery, of St. Louis.
“We’re still trying to piece together what he was doing in Bonne Terre,” MSHP spokesman Dallas Thompson told the AP.
Burns died in a hospital, the outlet reported. Worley took a bullet to the leg and was flown to a trauma center for treatment.
Burns leaves behind a 9-year-old daughter and a fiancee, Shannon Chasteen, TV station KMOV reported.
“He loved what he did and he loved the department that he worked for,” Chasteen said. “From what I’ve been told by the hospital and other officers, he went down with a fight.”
She spoke about the loss further in a Facebook post, sharing photos of them together, commemorating their time and his sacrifice.
“I love you Lane, and I know that you’re still with me,” Chasteen wrote. “I know you’re watching over your daughter, your family, your police officers, and I.”
Burns had been with the Bonne Terre Police Department for five years, and Worley for seven years, Thompson told KMOV.
“This is something that every officer fears. They always have it in the back of their mind,” he said.
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Police officer killed, another wounded in shootout at Motel 6, Missouri cops say."