Solved case · 2020
Also known as Springfield convenience store shooting
The short answer
On March 15, 2020, a gunman fired at random from his vehicle at passers-by in eastern Springfield, Missouri, before crashing at a Kum & Go convenience store, killing three people inside and a responding police officer before killing himself.
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Suggest coverage for 2020 Springfield, Missouri shootingOn the night of March 15, 2020, a mass shooting occurred in Springfield, Missouri. Between approximately 11:24 p.m. and 11:43 p.m. CST, multiple emergency calls reported a man driving a black 2019 Volkswagen and shooting indiscriminately at other vehicles in the eastern part of the city. The driver, later identified as 31-year-old Joaquin S. Roman, moved northward before crashing his vehicle at a Kum & Go convenience store on East Chestnut Expressway. He entered the store at 11:43 p.m. and opened fire on people inside, killing three and injuring one.
An employee who was wounded later told the Springfield News-Leader that the shooter appeared to have had a "psychotic break" and delivered a statement about feeling disrespected throughout his life and wanting to inflict pain on others. One person inside the store survived by hiding from the gunman. Springfield Police Department officers Christopher Walsh and Josiah Overton were shot at in the parking lot as they responded to the incident. Walsh was fatally wounded, and Overton was struck twice — one round was stopped by his body armor while a second tore into his shoulder. Arriving officers subsequently found that the shooter had killed himself.
The three victims killed inside the store were identified as 57-year-old store employee Troy Rapp, 46-year-old waste management contractor Shannon Perkins, and 22-year-old customer Matthew Hicks-Morris. The police officer killed outside the store was 32-year-old Christopher Walsh. Store employee Jayme Gilson was shot five times and survived, initially in critical condition before being upgraded to stable condition on March 26. Officer Overton's injuries were described as non-life-threatening.
On March 16, police executed a search warrant at Roman's Springfield apartment; concerns about possible booby traps led a SWAT team to use an armored Lenco BearCat vehicle to enter. Investigators recovered ammunition and magazines for the SKS rifle and Glock pistol used in the attack, both of which had been legally acquired. Seized items included an iPad, a computer, paperwork, and a counterfeit Social Security card. Police worked to determine a motive using Roman's electronic devices and other belongings.
Prior to the shooting, Roman had spoken to his mother about feeling "infiltrated" and had conducted online searches related to mental illness and tactical shooting. His mother had spoken with him by phone shortly before the shooting began and was planning to visit him due to concerns about his mental health. Roman had previously moved from California to Missouri in 2019 and had only minor prior law enforcement contact, consisting of four traffic citations.
A 2023 United States Secret Service report, "Mass Attacks in Public Spaces: 2016–2020," described Roman as holding neo-Nazi and anti-government beliefs that he expressed on social media, where he also helped establish online groups reflecting this ideology. Springfield Mayor Ken McClure and Police Chief Paul Williams offered condolences to those affected, and Kum & Go established a relief fund for victims' families.
Joaquin Roman moved from California to Missouri.
Between 11:24 p.m. and 11:43 p.m. CST, Roman fired indiscriminately at vehicles while driving through eastern Springfield, Missouri, before crashing at a Kum & Go convenience store on East Chestnut Expressway.
At 11:43 p.m., Roman, identified by police as the gunman, entered the Kum & Go store and shot four people, killing three; he also shot two responding police officers, fatally wounding one, before killing himself.
Police served a search warrant at Roman's apartment, using a SWAT team and an armored vehicle due to booby-trap concerns; ammunition, magazines, and other items were seized.
Surviving store employee Jayme Gilson, shot five times, was upgraded from critical to stable condition.
The U.S. Secret Service released 'Mass Attacks in Public Spaces: 2016-2020,' describing Roman's neo-Nazi and anti-government beliefs expressed on social media.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
32-year-old Springfield police officer fatally shot while responding to the scene.[3]
Store employee shot five times and survived; initially critical, upgraded to stable condition on March 26, 2020.[3]
Springfield police officer struck twice while responding, sustaining non-life-threatening injuries.[3]
22-year-old customer killed inside the store.[3]
46-year-old waste management contractor killed inside the store.[3]
57-year-old Kum & Go employee killed inside the store.[3]
Identified by police as the perpetrator who shot and killed four people, including a police officer, before killing himself; died at the scene and was never formally charged due to death.[3]
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
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Credit: FBIPublic domainSourceUNSOLVEDListen1717 East Delmar Street, Springfield, Missouri · 1990s
Three women — Sherrill Levitt, her daughter Suzanne "Suzie" Streeter, and Streeter's friend Stacy McCall — vanished from Levitt's Springfield, Missouri home overnight on June 6-7, 1992, leaving behind cars, purses, and other belongings. None have ever been found and the case remains unsolved.
Credit: Found at Imgur; this has been widely circulatedEditorial useSourceSOLVEDListenSpringfield, Missouri · 2000s
Dee Dee Blanchard, a Springfield, Missouri mother who for years falsely portrayed her daughter Gypsy Rose as gravely ill and disabled, was stabbed to death in her home in June 2015. Her daughter, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for conspiring with online boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn, who was convicted of first-degree murder for carrying out the killing.
Credit: James MountPublic domainSourceUNSOLVEDListenLamar, Missouri, United States · 1910s
On May 28, 1919, a mob dragged convicted murderer Jay Lynch, 28, from a Lamar, Missouri courthouse office and hanged him after he had pleaded guilty to killing Barton County Sheriff John Marion Harlow Jr. and his son Dick Harlow. The lynching helped spur Missouri to reinstate the death penalty.
Credit: Pax Ahimsa GethenCC BY-SA 4.0SourceSOLVEDListenPulse nightclub, Orlando, Florida, United States · 2016
On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen, identified by police as the gunman, shot and killed 49 people and wounded 58 others at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, during a Latin Night event, before being fatally shot by police after a three-hour standoff.
Credit: Canadaolympic989CC BY-SA 3.0SourceSOLVEDListenSandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut · 2012
On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot his mother at their Newtown, Connecticut home, then killed 20 children and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School before killing himself as police arrived.
Credit: AlgrCC BY-SA 3.0SourceSOLVEDListenCentury 16 theater (now Century Aurora), Aurora, Colorado · 2012
On July 20, 2012, James Eagan Holmes opened fire during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises at a Century 16 theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others. He was convicted in 2015 of 24 counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
