Cherokee County resident accused of firing gun at vehicle

Jeff Lehr, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·1 min read

Feb. 6—COLUMBUS, Kan. — A 55-year-old man was arrested Monday afternoon after allegedly firing a shot that struck an occupied vehicle just outside the city limits of Baxter Springs, Kansas.

The Cherokee County Sheriff's Department said deputies responded at 4:30 p.m. to a report of a disturbance on West 12th Street and arrested Richard Curran, of rural Baxter Springs, on charges of attempted manslaughter, aggravated child endangerment and aggravated assault and battery.

Deputies learned that a driver who lived nearby encountered Curran standing in the roadway blocking his vehicle and got out and got into a physical altercation with him about his obstruction. The sheriff's office said Curran apparently then retrieved a firearm and fired a round that struck the vehicle, which was occupied at the time by a woman and a child as well as the driver.