By Heather Hollingsworth -
The Associated Press
A court employee and a police officer were shot to death Thursday after the bailiff tried to serve an eviction notice at a home in Missouri, authorities said.
A second officer was seriously injured but is expected to survive, police said.
Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman said Thursday afternoon at a news conference outside Centerpoint Medical Center that two of his officers
were shot
as they came to the aid of Drexel Mack, the person who had been trying to kill serve the eviction notice.
Police officers escort the bodies of an Independence police officer and a court worker, in Independence, Missouri, on Feb. 29, 2024. Associated Press
Mack, or another civil servant who was also at the house, had called 911 to say he had been shot, Dustman said.
Officers responded around 1:10 p.m. (local time) and approached Mack to help him when someone shot at them, he said.
“I am very sorry to report that we have lost one of our own,” Dustman stated, identifying the agent as 35-year-old Cody Allen.
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The second officer, whose name was not released, underwent surgery and is expected to recover, Dustman said.
A third officer also “was hit by bullets” and suffered minor injuries, the police chief added.
Dustman called Allen a hero and described the police department as a “broken family” over Allen's death.
“He always had a smile,” Dustman said.
A man suspected in the shooting was in custody and suffered minor injuries, Missouri Highway Patrol Corporal Justin Ewing said during an earlier news conference.
Jack Taylor, spokesman for the Independence Police Department, said there were no details immediately available about what exactly happened before the shooting began.
Jack, who was in his 40s, had worked for Jackson County for more than a decade, authorities said.
“We are devastated that a court employee, who is a public servant, was shot by a member of the public while doing his job,” Judge Jalilah Otto, president of the court, said in a statement.
“Our hearts are sad and our thoughts are with our employee, our entire court family and the Independence Police Department.”
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More than a dozen officers lined up outside the hospital late Thursday afternoon to escort the victims' bodies to the coroner's office.
Those present hugged and consoled each other after the procession departed.
Video taken by a KMBC-TV helicopter earlier in the day showed emergency vehicles arriving at
a large, isolated house in the middle of a field
.
The area was a mix of woods and farmland with a handful of homes on multi-acre plots.
Between the houses there was a church.
Kansas City Police Captain Jake Becchina said in an email that tactical operations at the home ended around 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Officers searched the property to ensure the safety of investigators and other community members, and did not find anyone else inside the residence, he said.
The Missouri Highway Patrol is conducting an investigation.
Independence is a suburb of Kansas City and has about 122,000 residents.