Shots Fired in Downtown Joplin

Gunshots rang out in downtown Joplin early Friday afternoon. Police say it all started with a hit and run accident around 1:30 Friday afternoon on Main Street in Joplin. Police were dispatched to search for the late 80`s mid size maroon car involved in the hit and run. When police finally located the vehicle, a passenger in the car got out and fled on foot at the corner of 9th and Main Streets, leading officers on a foot chase. The suspect fired a large caliber revolver at the two officers involved in the chase, but they responded with gunfire and hit the suspect in the head and chest. The suspect, identified by police as 37-year-old Paul E. Cox of Joplin, was pronounced dead at a local hospital Friday afternoon. There were three other people in the car at the time of the incident. Police say they were taken into custody and were questioned, but no charges have been filed. The two officers are now on paid administrative leave while the investigation continues. With members of the Joplin Police Department involved, the Missouri Highway Patrol has taken over the investigation. Highway Patrol Officers are now awaiting a report from Springfield on an autopsy on the suspect . The last Joplin patrol officer shooting was in January of 2001 when an officer was seriously assualted on a non-routine traffic stop.