Spiro Officer Shoots Wanted Sex Offender

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says a Spiro officer shot a wanted sex offender in LeFlore County on Saturday afternoon.
 
Investigators say around 2:30 p.m., the officer received a tip that 70-year-old Johnnie Thomas Reed, a sex offender from Missouri, had been staying in the area in a recreational vehicle.

Troopers say Reed shot at the officer, then began to struggle with the officer's firearm. The officer was able to return fire and hit Reed.

The LeFlore County Sheriff's Department says Reed was then flown to St John Medical Center in Tulsa.

The officer was not hurt.

OSBI is investigating the shooting.

Reed will be held on charges of child molestation, aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, failure to register as a sex offender and possession of a firearm after felony convictions, according to the LeFlore County sheriff.