SIKESTON -- A home robbery attempt left a man with a bullet wound early Monday in Sikeston, according to Sikeston Department of Public Safety.
About 7 a.m. Monday, a 71-year-old Sikeston resident walked over to his neighbor's house in the 200 block of Tanner Street, according to Sikeston DPS. As he approached the back door, a subject walked up to him from a vehicle parked on Park Street.
"The victim said the man was talking to him, then pushed him inside the back door as a fight ensued," said DPS Assistant Chief Jim McMillen. "During the scuffle, the perpetrator pulled out a handgun and shot the victim in the torso."
The suspect was said to have left in a small, silver car. The victim was transported to a local hospital and expected to recover from his injuries.
Police responded and conducted a thorough examination of the crime scene and neighborhood, McMillen said. Additionally, the Missouri State Highway Patrol responded to assist along with a couple of their investigators from the Division of Drug and Crime Control. Officers are now conducting an extensive campaign to gather any and all information possible in relation to this crime.
"Sikeston residents must know that we will not tolerate random crimes in our neighborhoods," said Sikeston Mayor Steven H. Burch. "The Sikeston Department of Public Safety is pursuing all means to apprehend those who would perpetrate crime in our city. Our public safety officers, along with other law enforcement, are diligent in keeping our citizens safe."
More information is expected to follow, McMillen said, but right now the suspect is described as a 6-foot black male who is in his 30s and believed to be driving a small, silver car.
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact Sikeston DPS at 573-471-4711.