In the winter of 2005, a routine traffic stop on a cold January night in Columbia, Missouri, ended in a tragedy that would deeply wound the community and its police force. On the evening of January 10th, Officer Molly Thomas-Bowden, a 26-year-old officer with the Columbia Police Department, pulled over a vehicle at the intersection of Nifong and Forum Boulevards.
During the stop, the driver, 23-year-old Richard Evans, a student at Columbia College, opened fire on Officer Thomas-Bowden, striking her three times. Despite being gravely wounded, she was rushed to University Hospital for treatment.
Following the shooting, Evans fled the scene, sparking a manhunt. Later that night, another officer, Curtis Brown, located Evans and pursued him on foot. During the chase, Evans shot Officer Brown in the arm before taking his own life. Officer Brown survived his injuries.
For a month, Officer Thomas-Bowden fought for her life. She was placed in a drug-induced coma to combat an infection but sadly, would not recover from her severe injuries. On February 10, 2005, exactly one month after she was shot, Officer Molly Thomas-Bowden succumbed to her wounds. She had been a member of the Columbia Police Department for over three years and was the first officer in the department's history to be killed in the line of duty. Her husband was also an officer with the same department.
