A two-year-old girl was accidentally by a Missouri police officer who fired a round into a camping trailer during a hostage situation that left both of her parents dead, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
Police were called to the Kansas home on March 26 ‘after a woman 911 requesting help . . . due to an ongoing domestic disturbance,’ officials said.
Officers from the Baxter Springs Police Department answering the call were met with the door of Eli Crawford’s mobile home being slammed in their faces. The 37-year-old father ‘slammed it back shut’ after seeing police at the door, officials said in a press release.
The door was then opened by Chesslynn Crawford, his two-year-old daughter. As she reopened the door, her mother, Taylor Shutte, ran from the home.
Crawford then stepped out of the home and fatally shot Shutte, 27, of Webb City, Missouri.
During the three-hour-long standoff, Crawford fired over 90 rounds at officers in what the Kansas Bureau of Investigation has deemed a hostage situation.
Police officers retreated back a safe distance without returning fire as Crawford continued to shoot at them while barricading himself and his daughter inside the trailer.
Baxter Springs Police eventually called for backup. The Joplin Police Department’s SWAT team, the KBI, Kansas Highway Patrol and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office all responded.
Crawford is ‘believed to have used several guns to fire over 90 rounds,’ at officers. Around 9.25pm, an officer from the Joplin Police Department fired one round into the trailer home.
About an hour later, Crawford abruptly stopped shooting at officers.
When authorities later entered the home they found Crawford, Shutte and their daughter Chesslynn all dead. It’s believed Crawford died by suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
State investigators say Shutte was shot by Crawford several times before she died. Chesslynn was shot by an unnamed officer from the Joplin Police Department.
‘Clesslynn was full of life and had a very bubbly personality. She was very loving and always happy,’ her obituary reads. ‘She was extremely smart for her age and loved putting a smile on everyone’s face. Clesslynn loved Minnie Mouse, her binky, and never passed up a chance to dance. She would talk to you for days and was the definition of “A BOSS BABY.”‘
‘She always loved to cuddle, and although little, she was very fierce,’ the obituary continues. ‘Clesslynn had the eyes of an angel and a smile that could warm anyone’s heart. There was never a dull moment around this sweet girl.’
The Joplin Police Department has placed the officer accused of firing the fatal shot on routine administrative leave.
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