In the continuing pandemic of officers being gunned down, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper and a Carter County Sheriff’s deputy were shot while serving an eviction notice. The suspected gunman was arrested after he surrendered.
Corporal Dallas Thompson says the suspect is James D. Cummings, 31 of Van Buren. He surrendered just before 5 p.m. Law enforcement surrounded the home with Cummings inside for much of Friday.
State troopers were assisting the Sheriff’s Office in serving the eviction notice at a residence off Highway M outside of Van Buren shortly before 10 am Friday. That was when the shooting started.
MSHP officials say a Carter County deputy identified as Brigg Pierson and a trooper identified as Caleb McCoy were both shot and wounded. McCoy was shot in the shoulder and his vest, while Pierson was shot in the leg, groin, and chest.
Another trooper was on scene and he was able to drag the injured deputy from the porch to safety.
Trooper McCoy was taken to a local hospital and released Friday afternoon. Pierson was flown to a St. Louis area hospital for medical care.
He was in stable condition and in the intensive care unit as of 4 p.m. Friday.
Pierson, a reserve officer at the Mountain View Police Department, is also a volunteer fireman for Mountain View Fire Department, according to MVPD officials.
According to court documents, a judge ordered Cummings to leave the home on Monday, Aug. 12 and pay more than $4,500 in back rent. The court order authorized the sheriff’s office to forcefully remove Cummings if he refused to leave the property.
Apparently, he took offense to officers showing up to enforce the law and the court order.
Federal agencies, including the FBI and ATF, the state patrol and area officers were among those who assisted at the scene.
“Both officers were wounded & are hospitalized. Missouri officers are devoted to making our state safer despite the risks they face every day. #BacktheBlue.”
Across state lines in Chicago, we saw another officer wounded the day before.
It happened less than 500 miles up the road. Officers were serving a search warrant at a home in Wheeling, Illinois about 6:30 p.m. Thursday when a person fired shots from inside, striking an Illinois State Police officer.
The officer, a 32-year-old, five-year veteran of the state police, was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the release from ISP said. The trooper is expected to make a full recovery.
Fortunately, this did not wind up with another officer lost in the line of duty. We are currently closing in on 80 officers killed this year while on duty.
A person was taken into custody and is expected to appear in bond court today.
“The men and women of the Illinois State Police again and again display bravery simply by doing the job they were sworn to do,” said Brendan F. Kelly, acting ISP director. “This officer, and all first responders who responded today, showed uncommon valor in what is becoming an all too common situation.”
The warrant was being served in connection with a traffic stop earlier that day on Interstate 294. The person on the warrant was wanted on multiple felony charges including forcible detention, aggravated assault to a police officer and aggravated unlawful restraint.
The state police did not provide any more details about the traffic stop nor if the person they took into custody for the shooting was the same person they were seeking to arrest with the warrant.
Meanwhile, while the men and women in uniform are literally putting their lives on the line, politicians are using their sacrifice as literal cannon fodder for their campaign fundraising efforts.
“At least three, no wait…five, actually six officers have been shot so far.”
Virginia Delegate Mark Levine was providing a running commentary in an online, social media driven effort to solicit campaign funds, using the shootout and the officers injuries as fodder for his campaign cannon, blasting out requests for contributions to help him and other Democrats get elected in Virginia in hopes of enacting gun control.
His Facebook post, in its entirety, reads (complete with typographical errors):
“I’d be willing to lay money that the shooter(s) is/are using the kinds of mass-killing military-style assault weapons that I am trying to ban in Virginia. Since they kill humans quickly and well (but are not as good for hunting or self defense), they are the preferred weapons for mass murderers nationwide.
Virginia Republicans insist that we must allow terrorists, criminals, and gangs to have easy access to these weapons of war. They insist that Virginia voters support this and oppose background checks which would separate law-abiding gun owners from criminals.
And Virginia Republicans have said in no uncertain terms they will take NO action to reduce gun violence in Virginia until after Virginia voters go to the polls in November. That’s why they refused ANY discussion on ANY measure to stop gun violence and ended the session our Governor called which was devoted to this one issue.
Are Republicans right that Virginia voters prefer massacres over restrictions on criminals and terrorists?
Are Republicans right that we should just get used to gun violence and daily massacres?
I don’t think so. I refuse to accept that massacres should be normal in America.
What do you think?
If you agree with me that the vastly increasing rate of gun violence should never be normalized, will you contribute to help Democrats flip the Virginia Legislature? For every dollar donated today up to $10,000, I will give $2 from my campaign to a Democratic candidate who supports universal background checks and an assault weapons ban.
Go here to contribute: http://markfordelegate.com/donate
And if you’re complaining that I’m seeking to “politicize” the tragedy, I assure you that ONLY politics can stop the next one. Only a new General Assembly can write the laws that have been shown time and time again to dramatically reduce the killing.
Virginia police BEG for these gun laws year after year. Pleae contribute what you can. If you personally want to make a difference and reduce gun violence in Virginia and across the nation (where, evein in other states, many victims in the Northeast are killed by easily purchased guns), here’s your chance to make a difference.”
He was immediately called out by people who ACTUALLY know what they’re talking about on social media:
Creative wording Mr. Delegate. You ARE in fact a Delegate in Virginia, right? Are you familiar with the Virginia Code § 18.2-308.2? It is, in fact, unlawful for a felon to purchase, possess, or transport firearms. AND it is already unlawful under § 18.2-308.2:1 to sell to felons. You should look it up. I wouldn’t want you to publicly embarrass yourself by passing false or disingenuous information.
But while we’re at it, would you please define, in detail, a “mass-killing military-style assault weapon”?
Standing by for your response. But I don’t think you will. You’ll probably just delete my comment. At which point I will simply post screenshots of my post on your page.
Once again, we see a politician politicizing the suffering of people that are in a fight for their life. While all the officers were treated and released, Levine was certainly trying to capitalize on a scenario that could have turned out much worse for the initial hostages, the Philadelphia Police Department and innocent bystanders.
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