At least 5 dead, including gunman, in shooting

SPRINGFIELD, MO. >> A man fired randomly from his vehicle several times while driving through a southwest Missouri city before eventually crashing into a convenience store, where he walked inside, opened fire and left five people dead, including a police officer and himself, police said Monday.

The dead from Sunday night’s shooting include a store employee and two men who were in the store, police said. A second officer was injured, along with another person.

The gunman’s motives remain unclear, Springfield police Chief Paul Williams said at a news conference, where his voice broke as he described his officers’ actions.

Williams said police received reports of “multiple shooting calls throughout the city” late Sunday starting in the south and moving north through the city’s east side.

“In essence we had a roving active shooter moving from the south side of the city up,” Williams said.

As officers were responding to those calls, witnesses reported a vehicle crashed into a Kum & Go. gas station and convenience store, and the gunman walked inside and began shooting customers and employees, Williams said.

The Kansas City Star reported that the gunman opened fire from inside the store as police arrived, with officers taking cover behind vehicles and shields.

“Advise everybody arriving on the scene, the shooter is shooting out the window,” one officer can be heard saying on audio captured by the online website Broadcastify.com, The Star reported. “The officer shot from inside the store outside. Take cover behind vehicles.”

The first two officers who arrived were shot. Other officers pulled the injured officers from the store and then went inside, finding three people dead. The gunman also died, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot, Williams said. The identity of the shooter has not been released.

Officer Christopher Walsh, 32, was shot and killed as he tried to rescue a victim, Williams said. He was with the Springfield police for 3 ½ years, was an Army veteran and was active in the Army reserves.

Walsh, a Springfield native, is survived by a wife and daughter.

“Chris died a hero, rushing in without regard to his own safety to protect members of his community. His courageous actions serve as an example to us all,” Williams said in a news release.