Missouri police officer shot and killed pulling driver over for expired tag

A Missouri police officer was shot and killed Tuesday morning when a driver pulled a gun on him during a routine traffic stop, according to officials.

North Kansas City police officer Daniel Vasquez, 32, was shot after he stopped a driver in a gray Ford Taurus at around 10:40 a.m. for an expired temporary tag, officials said.

He was rushed to the hospital, but ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

The suspected shooter fled the scene after shooting Vasquez, Clay County Sheriff Will Akin said at press conference. The incident prompted a search for the gunman that extended across multiple agencies. 

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The suspect eventually turned himself in to the Kansas City Police Department, Freeman said. The identity of the shooter has not been released.

Vasquez had served with the North Kansas City Police for nearly two years.

“This morning, North Kansas City Police Officer Daniel Vasquez was killed in the line of duty while performing a car stop in a neighborhood,” North Kansas City Mayor Bryant DeLong wrote in a statement on Facebook. 

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“I cannot express how excruciating this senseless death is for our organization and community. Daniel’s family, the NKC Police Department, and our entire community are grieving from this tragedy,” he continued.

North Kansas City Police Chief Kevin Freeman said during another press briefing that Vasquez was a “shining star” in the department.

“All these are tragedies but to see such a young person so early on in his career lose his life to such senseless violence is just unfathomable,” Freeman said.