An officer and a process server were killed and 2 officers shot as eviction notice served in Missouri

(CNN) — An officer and a civil process server have been killed and two other officers wounded after gunfire erupted as the process server was delivering an eviction notice in Missouri and police rushed in to help, officials said.

A suspect is in custody, Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman said Thursday at a news conference. “That is the only suspect at this time,” he added, declining to say more about that person’s injuries or the incident.

The deadly encounter comes after 378 officers across the US were shot last year in the line of duty – the most ever recorded – the National Fraternal Order of Police says, with 46 of them killed. Police responding to emergency calls this year have been shot at, injured or killed in places including Minnesota, Philadelphia and Washington, DC.

In Missouri, officers were called shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday to a report of shots fired at a home in Independence, near Kansas City, Dustman said.

When they arrived, they found the civil process server, Drexel Mack, injured. As the officers “went in to render aid and extract the victim … they were met with gunfire,” Dustman said. All three were shot.

Officer Cody Allen died from his injuries, Dustman said. A second officer underwent surgery and is expected to recover, while the third had minor injuries, he said, adding Mack died at a hospital.

Allen “did exactly what the men and women of law enforcement are called to do day in and day out, and I could not be more proud of him and his service to this community,” Dustman said, calling the fallen officer a hero.

Allen, 35, leaves behind a wife and two children, the chief said.

Mack had been with the Jackson County court for more than 12 years and was “beloved by many and a hard worker,” Presiding Judge Jalilah Otto said at the news conference.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is leading the investigation, Dustman said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CNN’s Rachel Webb contributed to this report.

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