Deputy Sheriff Gabriel Ramirez

Gabriel Ramirez

Deputy Sheriff Gabriel Ramirez was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop on State Highway 160 and Route HH near Highlandville around 4:00 p.m.

The suspect fled, and a manhunt ensued. Responding officers found the suspect's truck abandoned near Reeds Spring on State Highway 160. Using the suspect's heat signature, the Missouri State Highway Patrol tracked the suspect in the woods. When they approached the suspect, he fired at officers, striking and killing Deputy Sheriff Michael Hislope with the Christian County Sheriff's Office and wounding two deputies, one with the Christian County Sheriff's Office and the other with the Webster County Sheriff's Office.

The suspect, a convicted felon who had posted bail on February 20, 2026, for an additional crime, was killed in return gunfire.

Deputy Ramirez was a United States Army veteran and had served with the Christian County Sheriff's Office for almost one year.