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By Heather Hollingsworth Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A man with an extensive criminal history shot and killed a police officer and wounded two others who were checking on a disturbance at a Missouri home, authorities said Wednesday.

Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Collin Stosberg said the officers went to the home in Clinton on Tuesday night in response to a 911 call in which no one was on the line but a disturbance could be heard in the background.

The patrol said shots were fired at the Clinton officers soon after they arrived at the home around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday. Clinton, with about 8,800 residents, is about 70 miles (110 kilometers) east of Kansas City.

Clinton Police Officer Christopher Ryan Morton was a full-time Police Officer from 2/12/2015 until 1/10/2017. He stayed with the department as reserve officer until he returned again to full time duty 9/24/2017 shortly after the death of Clinton Officer Gary Michael. pic.twitter.com/g2K03T2k5w

— Matt Evans (@MattEvansKMBC) March 7, 2018

Officer Christopher Ryan Morton, a 30-year-old who had served in the Army, was fatally shot while trying to apprehend the suspect. Police said Officer Nathan Bettencourt is recovering from gunshot wounds and surgery at a Kansas City area hospital in stable condition. The other officer, Nicholas Kasper, was treated for gunshot wounds and released earlier Wednesday.

A SWAT team entered the home at 12:10 a.m. Wednesday and found the suspect, 37-year-old James Waters, of Clinton, dead. Stosberg said the cause of the suspect’s death is under investigation. A woman who was at the home was taken into custody.

Court records show Waters had a history of convictions for drugs and resisting arrest. He served stints in prison from October 2000 through November 2002, May 2003 through April 2008, July 2008 through October 2012 and May 2014 through last July, according to Missouri Department of Corrections spokesman Garry Brix.

Waters was charged in November in Missouri’s Cass County with unlawful possession of a firearm and drug possession, court records show. He pleaded not guilty, and the case was pending when he died.

Stosberg declined to say whether police had responded to the home in the past or what precipitated the 911 call.

Morton is the second Clinton police officer in the past year to be killed in the line of duty. In August, Officer Gary Michael was killed during a traffic stop. Ian McCarthy was arrested after a two day manhunt and has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the shooting. Prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty.

Morton, who joined the Army in November 2005 and was twice deployed, returned in May 2014 from Afghanistan, where he served as a bridge crew member and radio communications manager, The Kansas City Star reported.

The patrol said Morton was a full-time Clinton officer from February 2015 through January 2017, when he temporarily became a reserve officer. He returned to full-time duty one month after Michael’s death. The patrol described Morton in a tweet as having served with “distinction.”

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = ‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.12’; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’)); VIDEO: Slain Clinton officer Christopher Morton honored with ‘Our Heroes’ at 2014 Royals game

Before his time with the Clinton PD, Christopher Morton was a specialist in the U.S. Army. He was deployed twice, serving as a Bridge Crew Member and Radio Communications Manager. In May 2014, he was recognized by the Kansas City Royals for his service. (Video courtesy: Royals) STORY >> http://www.kctv5.com/story/37664589/clinton-police-officer-killed-2-other-officers-injured-responding-to-911-call

Posted by KCTV5 News Kansas City on Wednesday, March 7, 2018

The Clinton Fire Department is flying a thin blue line flag at half staff this morning in honor of the officer shot and killed here last night. The two other officers shot are still in the hospital being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. pic.twitter.com/JN2U0fV6Xo

— Matt Evans (@MattEvansKMBC) March 7, 2018

Henry County Sheriff talking about the death of officer Christopher Morton. “This is hard on everyone. It’s not just a cop thing. This hits the whole town”. @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/RZ5jsmWWAv

— Steven Dial (@StevenDialTV) March 7, 2018

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