BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. — Police say the man they shot and killed Tuesday pointed a weapon at them first. Other witnesses saw that weapon as well.
"The officer carried the gun away, you know, hit the barrel was like, 'Down to your ankle.' He was holding it at his hip," Brandon Ashburn, who witnessed the shooting said. "So something similar to an AR-15."
Ashburn was on his way back to work on Tuesday afternoon when he spotted the armed suspect and police.
"The cops are looking at him and we're in the line of fire," Ashburn said. "So, I kept driving because we’re staring down at the barrel of an AR-15."
Police say the suspect shot at Cass County deputies last Thursday during a pursuit. No one was hurt and he got away.
On Tuesday, Cass County investigators followed him and another individual to a Walmart on Coronado Drive in Blue Springs.
"It is a dark in color gray Chevy pickup truck. Not occupied at this time. I pulled away from it. I'm going to try to wait for the parties to come back out. Apparently, the suspect is armed, known to be armed and dangerous with other deputies," law enforcement can be heard saying on audio captured by Broadycastify.com
"Officers waited for him to come out and approached him before he got into the vehicle," Blue Springs Chief of Police Bob Muenz said.
Officers caught up with the armed man at R.D. Mize and Sunnyside School Roads, where Heather Tupin saw the next moments from her back balcony.
"An officer jumped out of one of the SUVs and yelled, 'Put down your weapon, put down your weapon.' And then shots began to fire," Tupin said.
Ashburn shared a video with KSHB 41 News showing the emergency response moments after police opened fire.
"The cops are doing compressions on him for probably a good 10 to 15 minutes before they pronounced him dead I assume, they put a sheet over him," Ashburn said.
The two officers who fired their weapons weren't hurt.
"You try to have a plan," Muenz said. "You try to make sure that you know, you have assistance and backup and can resolve the situation peacefully."
Tupin said she was grateful for how police handled the situation.
"I’m grateful that there wasn’t a greater loss of life today that there weren't innocent kids running around in the street," she said. "They're always kids around this area. I'm really glad it wasn't tomorrow the first day of school."
Police arrested the second suspect without incident, charges are pending.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol is now leading the investigation.
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