Samantha Thrasher is being sought in a shooting that wounded a man and a girl at a hotel in Missouri. (Photos from the Blue Springs Police Department)
A manhunt is currently underway for a 24-year-old woman wanted for shooting and wounding two people — including a 36-year-old man in the testicles and a 7-year-old girl in the elbow — after an argument with an employee over a refund at a Missouri hotel, authorities said.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Samantha J. Thrasher, 24, for felony first-degree assault and armed criminal action in a May 20 shooting at a hotel near Kansas City, Missouri, authorities said. She’s considered armed and dangerous, police said, advising against trying to apprehend her and instead urging people to call the police if they spot Thrasher.
Blue Springs police Sgt. Keegan Hughes told FOX4 Kansas City it was unusual.
“That’s one of our good hotels in this city. It’s not normal for us to have calls at this hotel or disturbances — let alone shootings,” Hughes said, the network reported.
It all went down just before midnight on May 20 at the SureStay Plus Hotel in Blue Springs. Police received a 911 call that someone had been shot inside the hotel.
Details were laid out in redacted court documents in Jackson County, Missouri.
Once there, officers found a man appearing very pale and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The girl suffered a gunshot wound to her left elbow, court documents said.
The male victim first encountered Thrasher while he was walking into the hotel.
A witness told police that the incident began when Thrasher nearly struck her and the two shooting victims with her tan Chevrolet Tahoe when she drove the vehicle onto the curb in front of the hotel, authorities said.
The witness said she yelled at Thrasher, who yelled back. The witness believed that based on Thrasher’s dilated pupils and manner of speech, she was under the influence of an unknown substance, court documents said.
The witness said Thrasher entered the hotel lobby and demanded a refund for her room. The employee told her she could not provide the refund, only a manager could. Then the two argued, and Thrasher allegedly grabbed her by the hair and struck at her, court documents said.
The male victim intervened and escorted Thrasher out of the hotel’s front door. Thrasher swung at him with a fist before walking to her vehicle as he returned to the hotel lobby, court documents said.
Surveillance footage shows Thrasher opening her vehicle’s passenger side door, appearing to rummage through something, and then producing a gun from inside the vehicle, court documents said.
Thrasher cycled the slide on the gun and returned to the hotel lobby seconds later, firing multiple rounds from the pistol, striking the man and the girl. One of the rounds went through the top of a couch, exited the sofa, and passed through the girl’s elbow, just above a third person’s head, court documents said.
The girl and the witness ran from the lobby toward the hotel’s interior.
Thrasher returned to the Tahoe and drove off, court documents said.
The male victim was taken to a hospital and underwent surgery in the intensive care unit. He had been shot at least four times. He had wounds to his back and testicles, authorities said.
The girl was taken to a children’s hospital to remove “couch stuffing” from the wound and bone of her left elbow and then was scheduled for reconstructive elbow surgery. The prognosis for future mobility in her elbow was unknown then, court documents said.
Police interviewed witnesses, scoured the scene for evidence and reviewed surveillance video.
The male shooting victim had taken a picture of the license plate on Thrasher’s Tahoe — KS 757PVE — from the earlier incident in the parking lot. The hotel desk clerk gave police the suspect’s registration information, including a copy of her Kansas state driver’s license, court documents said.
Detectives seized a live .40 caliber cartridge in the parking lot where the Tahoe had been. Four spent .40 caliber casings were found in the hotel lobby, court documents said.
Police said surveillance footage showed what appeared to be at least one child inside the Tahoe and another adult, court documents said.
Prosecutors requested a $200,000, 10% bond.
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