An area police chief was struck by a bullet during a shootout with a suspect during an incident in Benton County on Friday, May 18.
According to a post on the Benton County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, on Thursday, May 17, a juvenile suspect reportedly stole a vehicle and led law enforcement on a high-speed chase in Warsaw, where the suspect shot at officers, but no one was injured. The suspect then abandoned the stolen vehicle and disappeared into a wooded area, where a K-9 unit from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office was deployed and began tracking the suspect for several hours.
On Friday, May 18, Warsaw Police Chief Jason Wenberg was shot in the chest during a shootout with a juvenile suspect at the intersection of Washington and Seminary Streets. The juvenile suspect was also shot, sustaining serious injuries, and was transported by helicopter to Columbia Regional Hospital where he is currently sedated and stable. The suspect’s name has not been disclosed as of yet.
Wenburg’s body armor reportedly stopped the bullet, where he was treated for injures at Golden Valley Hospital in Clinton and has been released.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Investigation Division is currently working the crime scene, and KMMO News will update this story as more information becomes available.