Man fatally shot; police say he pulled gun on trooper

SULLIVAN, Mo. -- An eastern Missouri man was shot to death by a state trooper after pointing a gun at the officer during a foot chase, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.

The shooting happened just after 5 p.m. Wednesday near Sullivan, about 70 miles southwest of St. Louis.

Patrol Sgt. Cody Fulkerson said the trooper pulled over Joseph Weatherby, 44, of Sullivan on an Interstate 44 service road.

Fulkerson did not know what led to the initial traffic stop.

As the trooper was speaking with him, Weatherby suddenly drove his pickup truck across a parking lot of a business.

The trooper got in his car and began a chase that ended when Weatherby got out of the truck and ran behind a house.

The trooper ran after Weatherby, who pulled out a handgun, Fulkerson said.

"He pointed the weapon at the officer, and the officer shot him," Fulkerson said.

Weatherby was shot once in the chest.

He died later Wednesday at a Sullivan hospital.