A high-speed pursuit was initiated around 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday by the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department and Cuba Police Department after they received information that a subject wanted on a felony warrant out of Texas was in the Cuba area. The suspect was reported as armed and dangerous, and possibly might fire upon police officers if confronted.

Around 10:40 a.m., the suspect was spotted at a business in Cuba. When approached, he fled in his truck, dragging a Cuba police officer for a short distance. The Highway Patrol joined in the pursuit as the driver evaded law enforcement from Highway DD in Cuba, crossed the highway shoulder and entered into the westbound traffic on I-44. Tire spike strips were deployed at several locations, which resulted in three of the four tires on the suspect vehicle being deflated.

The pursuit continued into Phelps County to the vicinity of the 200 mile marker east of St. James, where the man’s Ford F-150 truck was finally stopped after he tried to cross over the shoulder to the north service road with blown tires. The suspect reportedly got out of his truck, pointing a pistol at his own head. Then, police said he fired a shot at them. Deputies and a state trooper returned fire, striking and killing the suspect.

The suspect was transported to the Phelps County Regional Medical Center by ambulance, where he was later pronounced dead.

The investigation by the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control continues. The trooper involved in the shooting was not injured, and has been placed on routine administrative leave pending completion of the investigation.

The Patrol reported that the man was from Oklahoma, but it was not made clear why he was armed or what instigated his flight or the shootout with law enforcement.

No officers were hurt in the shootout, although a county deputy’s police cruiser was involved in a two-car crash at the intersection of Highway 19 and Golden Oak Road in Steelville, as the deputy responded to the call of a vehicle pursuit.