Jackson County employee fatally shot in Independence had worked for court for 12 years

An employee with Jackson County was shot and killed during an eviction Thursday in Independence.

Drexel Mack was a civil process server who had worked for Jackson County Circuit Court for 12 years, according to a news release from the court.

An Independence police officer, Cody Allen, was also shot and killed, and two other officers were wounded by gunshots.

“We are simply devastated that someone who is doing their job on behalf of the Court could be shot and killed,” said Presiding Judge Jalilah Otto. “Every day there are people at the Court who serve legal papers and who handle evictions and that is their job, and they perform their jobs diligently. Our hearts are very heavy and we send our sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Mack, and the families of the Independence Police Department officers who also suffered tragedies today.”

Thursday’s shooting took place shortly after 1 p.m. on the front porch of a private residence in the 1100 block of Elsea Smith Road, near Bundschu Road, in northeastern Independence.

A civil process server with the Jackson County Circuit Court called Independence police requesting assistance. The caller advised that an officer with the court had been shot, said Cpl. Justin Ewing, a spokesman with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which is investigating the shootings. Simultaneously, a neighbor called 911 saying that an officer had been shot.

Multiple officers from the Independence Police Department responded and additional shots were fired, injuring the three police officers, Ewing said.

Officers from several agencies responded to assist, including tactical units. Eventually, a male suspect was taken into custody with minor injuries.

It was unknown how many civil process servers were on the scene when the initial shots were fired, Ewing said.