Sikeston officer among three dead in apparent murder-suicide in rural Mississippi County
FOX23 News at 9 p.m.
EAST PRAIRIE, Mo., (KBSI) — A law enforcement officer and two other people are dead following what authorities describe as an apparent murder-suicide at a rural home in southeast Missouri.
The Mississippi County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called around 2:30 p.m. Monday to a residence at 8101 County Road 408, about 20 miles south of the Illinois–Missouri state line, for a report of a missing person.
When deputies arrived, they found one person dead inside the home and secured the scene. Additional law enforcement agencies were requested to assist after information suggested a possible barricaded individual remained inside the residence.
Officials said the suspect later fired at responding officers, striking and killing one law enforcement officer and wounding another. Multiple agencies returned fire and established a perimeter around the property as negotiations continued for several hours.
After an extended standoff, officers deployed concussion munitions to disorient the suspect before entering the home. Inside, they found the individual dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Authorities said several regional, state, and federal agencies assisted at the scene, including Mississippi County Sheriff’s deputies, the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop E, the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, the Sikeston Department of Public Safety, and the New Madrid County Sheriff’s Office.
Early Tuesday morning, officers and emergency medical personnel were seen removing two of the deceased from the residence, including the fallen officer.
Officials later identified the slain officer as Sikeston Department of Public Safety Officer Henry Franklin, a member of the department’s tactical team who responded to the scene as part of a mutual aid request.
According to the department, Franklin was shot and killed by a person concealed inside the residence while officers were attempting to serve a warrant.
Franklin joined the Sikeston Department of Public Safety in June 2013 and served as the handler for K9 Odin. He was also a veteran of the Army National Guard.
“Our department has suffered an unimaginable loss,” said Sikeston Department of Public Safety Director James McMillen. “We ask that you keep Franklin’s family and our department in your prayers.”
Franklin, a native of Charleston, is survived by his wife, Leah, and four children, along with his mother, Sally Turner Doyle, and sister, Amy Eastman.
Sikeston Mayor Greg Turnbow has ordered flags in the city to be flown at half-staff through the end of the day of Franklin’s funeral.
Details about memorial services and ways to support Franklin’s family will be announced in the coming days.
The Mississippi County Sheriff’s Office and Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control continue to investigate.
