ROLLA, Mo. — A St. Louis man is in jail in Phelps County after police said he shot a woman in a Taco Bell drive-thru in Rolla.
Rolla police arrived at the fast-food restaurant Wednesday night to find a woman shot in the back in a car in the drive-thru lane. She was transported to Phelps Health Center and then airlifted to a hospital in Columbia, Missouri, where she remains in critical condition.
Police said there were three people in the car at the time of the shooting, and that a man in the rear driver's side seat shot a gun inside the vehicle while waiting in the drive-thru lane. The bullet entered the back of the driver's seat and hit the victim in the back. The shooter then ran away.
Police identified Michael E. Vehlewald, 25, of St. Louis as the shooter and located him after a search of the area.
Vehlewald was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He is currently in the Phelps County Jail on a $250,000 bond.
