KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the man shot and killed by a trooper Tuesday night in Sweet Springs, Missouri, was wanted in connection to the killings of two members of the Arizona Rangers.
Late Wednesday night, troopers identified the man as Francis Alcantar-Chavez, 23, of Tempe, Arizona.
Alcantar-Chavez was wanted in connection to the deaths of 53-year-old Cynthia Templeton and 62-year-old Troy Templeton, of Taylor, Arizona.
Scripps News Group Phoenix identified the two victims as members of the Arizona Rangers, an assistive law enforcement agency in Arizona.
Alcantar-Chavez was the son of Cynthia Templeton, one of the victims.
After authorities discovered the bodies of the victims Sunday in Arizona, they issued a nationwide “stop and Hold” for Alcantar-Chavez.
According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesperson, around 6:17 p.m. Tuesday, troopers were notified by the Concordia, Missouri, Police Department that one of their officers had initiated a pursuit of a motorcycle being operated by a suspect wanted in an out-of-state homicide.
While officers lost sight of the motorcycle, about 90 minutes later, troopers in the area spotted the motorcycle. Troopers say the suspect crashed the motorcycle into a trooper’s patrol car and then fled on foot.
During the chase, troopers say Alcantar-Chavez, armed with a handgun, opened fire and struck a trooper in his bulletproof vest.
The trooper returned fire, fatally striking Alcantar-Chavez.
The trooper was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. The trooper was released from the hospital by Wednesday afternoon.
Back in Arizona, the killing of the Templetons' left the community in shock.
“This is a tragic incident that has shaken our community,” Snowflake-Taylor Police Chief Robert Martin said. “Our hearts to go out to the loved ones of Troy and Cynthia during this incredibly difficult time.”
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Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
