SULLIVAN, Mo. — Westbound Interstate 44 closed after a shooting involving Sullivan police officers Saturday evening, officials said.
According to the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, the Sullivan Police Department responded to an agitated man walking east in the westbound lanes of I-44 near the 225-mile marker.
Officers stopped traffic as they arrived on scene to prevent the man from being run over.
As they attempted to speak to the man, he came at the officer and a sheriff's deputy with a knife in his hand, police said. The deputy asked him to stop and to drop the knife. The man continued towards the officer and deputy in an aggressive manner.
The officer and deputy shot the suspect and began to render first aid, a press release said.
The man was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Family and friends identified the man as Garrett Ryan of Sullivan.
Kayla Walker works nearby and said it was an average Saturday evening at work when all of a sudden she saw the man walking near the interstate and police cars swarmed the area.
"I look up and all I see is cops surrounding him, and then pow, pow, pow, there he goes down on the ground, man, it's hard. It's nothing I wanted to experience. I'm traumatized from it," Walker said.
Her co-worker Christopher Wilson said he saw four law enforcement officials with their weapons drawn and did not see Ryan carrying a knife.
"All four of them shoot him at center mass. There was six shots. His hands were empty. Yes, he had agitated behavior, but somebody that's in a stressful situation doesn't have professional training," Wilson said.
Walker said she didn't see any weapons either.
"It appeared he was in a mental crisis. He needed help. And instead of tasing him, or getting him mental help, they shot him, and I don't think that's okay," Walker said.
Ryan's friend Cassie Potter said she couldn't believe this happened to him and is grieving along with his family.
"He never would be confrontational. He never had an argument. He always avoided that. And I got sober two and a half years ago, and he was my biggest support system that I had," Potter said.
She and Wilson said the family is devastated.
"My heart goes out to his family. I just don't feel he deserved to go through this. I feel that there needs to be justice served for him, and I will be a voice for him until it is done," Potter said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol responded to the scene and is investigating.
MSHP's Division of Drug and Crime Control issued the following statement on Tuesday:
"On August 10, 2024, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and Sullivan Police Department requested the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control to investigate an officer involved shooting, in Franklin County, Missouri. The deceased male, who was fatally shot by officers on Interstate 44, near the 255 mile-marker, has been identified as Garrett M. Ryan, 30, of Sullivan, Missouri. The Missouri State Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control continue their investigation into this incident. To maintain the integrity of the investigation, further details are not being released at this time. The results of the investigation will be turned over to the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office for review."