Two Killed in Officer-Involved Shooting in Christian County

An early Saturday morning incident that started as an attempted traffic stop ends in the death of two people in an officer-involved shooting.

In a release from the Greene County Sheriff's Office as part of the Sheriff's Critical Incident Team which also includes the Christian, Lawrence, and Webster County Sheriff's offices, the incident started just before 3:00 as an Ozark Police Officer attempted a traffic stop on a possible impaired driver around the Highway 65 and 14 interchange. The vehicle did not stop and about a half hour later, was spotted by officers with the Christian County Sheriff's office. The vehicle again did not stop and a pursuit began which was eventually joined by Nixa and Ozark Police Officers.

Law Enforcement was able to stop the vehicle around the Highway 65 an CC interchange near Fremont Hills and when the man and woman inside the vehicle failed to respond to commands and the male brandished a fire arm, officers responded by firing their weapons killing both people. 

The incident is still under investigation by the Critical Incident Team including discovering the identities of the people killed.

The full release on the incident from the Greene County Sheriff's Office is below:

At approximately 2:53 am, Ozark Police Department initiated a traffic stop on a white Chevy passenger car at the intersection of US 65 Highway and Missouri 14 Highway for suspicion of impairment. The vehicle did not stop for the Ozark officer and fled southbound. The Ozark Police Officer did not pursue the vehicle. Ozark Police Department relayed the information about the suspected impaired driver to the Christian County Sheriff’s Office. At 3:32 am, the Christian County Sheriff’s Office then located the Chevy passenger car in the Highlandville area and attempted a traffic stop. The vehicle fled from the Christian County Deputy and a pursuit was initiated. 
The vehicle continued to flee to the area of US 65 Highway and State Highway CC where a Christian County Deputy performed a successful Tactical Vehicle Intervention (TVI) maneuver, after the suspect attempted to run over a deputy. The occupants of the vehicle are a white male driver and a female passenger. Both occupants of the vehicle failed to comply with commands. The male then appeared out of the driver’s side window with a firearm and the suspect brandished the firearm at the officers. Officers from the Christian County Sheriff’s Office, Nixa Police Department and Ozark Police Department fired their weapons at the threat. 
At this time, both occupants of the vehicle are confirmed as deceased.
This is still an ongoing investigation and more information will be released as it becomes available. Investigators are on scene attempting to identify the suspects. Next of kin will be notified once both suspects have been identified.  
The Sheriff’s Critical Incident Team (SCIT) is currently on scene. The SCIT is comprised of the sheriffs of Greene County, Christian County, Webster County and Lawrence County.