Authorities in Arkansas and Missouri are working to piece together the details of an officer-involved shooting that resulted in a woman’s body being discovered inside a pickup truck. On December 8, Festus, Missouri police responded to reports of an active shooter at a White Castle, according to a news release from the Arkansas Department of Public Safety issued on December 11. The suspect, 40-year-old Jarrett W. Cousins, fled the scene in a Dodge Ram truck. Police from Festus and Crystal City attempted to stop him, but Cousins refused to pull over and collided with a concrete median.
“Cousins exited the vehicle wearing body armor and armed with multiple firearms,” authorities said. “The suspect discharged his weapons, and officers returned fire, striking the suspect.” Cousins was taken to the hospital in critical but stable condition. Upon further investigation, police found 45-year-old Clara Blaxton dead in the front passenger seat of his truck. Authorities are treating her death as a homicide and believe she was killed in northeast Arkansas, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri.
“While a lot (of) things are still so uncertain, one thing is for sure… we lost our mother,” a GoFundMe page stated. The cause of death has not been released. Cousins faces charges of first-degree assault or attempted serious physical injury and armed criminal action related to the officer-involved shooting. He is being held without bond, with no attorney information listed in court records. Crystal City is located about 40 miles southwest of St. Louis.