BONNE TERRE, Mo. — A man fatally shot one police officer and injured another at a Motel 6 in Bonne Terre early Thursday. The gunman was then shot and killed when officers fired back.
The shootout happened about 12:30 a.m. when police were summoned for a disturbance at the motel, at 1017 Highway K.
Two Bonne Terre officers walked toward the room, and 31-year-old James J. Emery came out with a gun, shooting at them, said Cpl. Dallas Thompson of the Missouri Highway Patrol.
Bonne Terre Patrolman Lane Burns died at a local hospital about an hour later. Burns, 30, was wearing a bulletproof vest but the shot to his upper body missed the vest by an inch or two, the St. Francois County coroner said.
Cpl. Garrett Worley with Bonne Terre police was shot in the leg and taken by medical helicopter to Mercy Hospital St. Louis in Creve Coeur. Worley, 28, underwent surgery at Mercy and was speaking with department officials after waking up Thursday afternoon, Thompson said.
Emery was killed by police. He lived in Maplewood and also had a recent address in Ironton, which is farther south, in Iron County, Thompson said. Emery was by himself when he shot the officers.
Thompson did not know what sparked the shootout. Authorities are trying to collect background on Emery to find out why he was at the motel. Online records show no felony convictions in Missouri and no federal cases in Missouri or Illinois for Emery. Records show only a misdemeanor and $118 fine for violating rules at a Missouri Conservation area in Washington County.
No relatives answered at the home in Maplewood where Emery lived.
The Missouri Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control is handling the investigation.
The Motel 6 manager declined to speak to a reporter about the shooting or say what disturbance brought police there.
After Burns was shot, paramedics rushed him by ambulance to Parkland North Hospital in Bonne Terre. Jason Coplin, coroner for St. Francois County, said rescuers and doctors tried for more than an hour to save Burns.
"They worked on him awhile and just couldn't get him to come back," Coplin said.
Burns was pronounced dead at 1:46 a.m. Thursday, the coroner said.
"He did have a vest on, but it just barely missed his vest," Coplin said. "By maybe an inch."
Burns is survived by two children, ages 5 and 9, said Will Becker, a spokesman for The BackStoppers Inc. The nonprofit will be providing financial assistance to cover the funeral and to support the fallen officer's children.
Burns had been with the Bonne Terre police force about five years, and had worked for the St. Francois County sheriff's office and nearby municipal departments before that, Thompson said.
Lt. Bill Stegall, assistant chief in Bonne Terre, called Burns a "dedicated officer."
Bonne Terre plans to put Burns' patrol car on display at a local park Friday. The car will be draped in black bunting and serve as a makeshift memorial where townspeople can gather.
Bonne Terre is about 50 miles south of St. Louis. The town of about 7,000 has 10 full-time police officers and 10 part-time officers. Burns worked full time.
After the shooting, the department sent all of its officers home Thursday to mourn, and surrounding police agencies stepped up to handle calls for them, Stegall said.
"Local departments will make sure our community is covered," he said.
Amy Brenneke, a part-time police officer for Bonne Terre, said of Burns: "He would do anything for anyone and he gave up his life for this town."
Business owners in downtown Bonne Terre rallied around the fallen officer.
Shari House runs The Fancy Crow, a business along Highway 47 that sells household decor. She attached a black ribbon to her American flag.
"We're a small community," she said, "and it's heartbreaking."
A vigil is scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday on the football field at North County High School, 7151 Raider Road in Bonne Terre.
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(Robert Cohen, Robert Patrick and Katie Kull of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.)
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