INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — An Independence police officer and Jackson County civil process server were shot and killed, and two more officers were shot and wounded on Thursday afternoon outside a house in the area of N. Elsea Smith Road and E. Bundschu Road.
Authorities say this happened after the process server was attempting to serve an eviction, and the shooting suspect is in custody.
Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman identified the officer as 35-year-old Cody Allen, who has served with multiple departments and had been with IPD for about two years. He’s survived by his wife and two young children.
Judge Jalilah Otto identified the process server as Drexel Mack, who served the court for 12 years and was in his early 40s.
“We are devastated that a court employee, who is a public servant, was shot by a member of the public while performing their job,” said Judge Otto. “Our hearts are heavy and our thoughts are with our employee, our entire Court family, and the Independence Police Department.”
The shooting location is just south of N. Elsea Smith’s intersection with 24 Highway. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office says it’s assisting and the call for service went out just after 1 p.m.
MSHP Corporal Justin Ewing said process servers initially called for help after one was shot, it’s unclear how many were there for the initial shooting. Independence police officers answered the call, and three came under fire.
Kansas City police Captain Jacob Becchina said Independence police then called for more backup and a tactical response team went to the scene, as well as officers from multiple agencies. As of 5:30 p.m. officers at the scene are in the midst of an Operation 100, commonly referred to as a standoff, in the event that there’s still someone in the house.
The suspect hasn’t been identified yet, nor have the officers who were wounded.
FOX4 will continue to provide updates about this story as we learn more details.