By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A Platte County man accused of randomly shooting at cars crossing the Missouri River between Platte City, Missouri and Leavenworth, Kansas is recovering at a Kansas City area hospital after being stopped by a Fort Leavenworth soldier who ran him over with his car.
Leavenworth Police Chief Pat Kitchens says the soldier acted when he spotted a man on the bridge, shooting at vehicles.
“At one point there was a soldier about three or four cars back from the car shooting, saw there was an active shooter, used his vehicle to strike the shooter,” Kitchens tells St. Joseph Post.
Kitchens says 9-1-1 calls began flooding the Leavenworth Police Department at around 11 o’clock Wednesday morning, reporting shots being fired on the Centennial Bridge. A shooter, armed with an assault rifle and a handgun, began shooting at vehicles at random, getting off numerous rounds, hitting and wounding one person, before being run over.
Kitchens describes him only as a 38-year-old resident of Platte County. Leavenworth police are working with the Platte County Sheriff’s Department in an attempt to understand a motive. A search is being conducted of his house.
An investigation of the crime scene continues.
“There were a number of rounds fired,” Kitchens says. “There were a total of three vehicles that were hit as a result of the gunfire. The one person that did receive a gunshot wound was in a car.”
The wounded victim, another Ft. Leavenworth soldier, suffered serious injuries which are not believed to be life-threatening. He appears to have been a random victim, not targeted by the shooter. The Ft. Leavenworth solider who ran the shooter down was not injured, according to Kitchens.
Kitchens says the suspect had to be pried from underneath a car after the soldier ran him over.
“He was rescued by fire and EMS personnel, transferred to an area hospital in Kansas City,” according to Kitchens. “His injuries are serious and we’re still paying very close attention, monitoring that circumstance. We don’t believe they’re life-threatening, but he was injured pretty seriously.”
Police plan to meet with Leavenworth County prosecutors Thursday to consider formal charges against the suspect.