REMEMBERING CHRIS WALSH: The Springfield Police officer who was one of four killed in convenience store shooting in 2020

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - It’s been four years since Springfield Police Officer Christopher Walsh was shot and killed along with three others at a Springfield convenience store.

On March 15, 2020, at the Kum & Go on E. Chestnut Expressway, 31-year-old Joaquin Roman shot and killed 32-year-old Officer Walsh, 57-year-old Troy Rapp, 46-year-old Shannon Perkins, and 22-year-old Matthew Hicks. Rapp worked at the Kum & Go store. Perkins worked for WCA Waste Corporation.

Another SPD officer, 25-year-old Josiah Overton, along with another person, were shot and injured. In June 2020, Officer Overton returned to work.

After he fired shots, Roman then shot and killed himself.

Investigators say when officers arrived at the store, the shooter began firing at them from inside. Other responding officers arrived and made entry into the store, where they found the shooter deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police say there were several other calls of shots fired linked to Roman.

“Although those that knew Chris well would agree that he was indeed the best of us, Chris would have preferred that his legacy was made apparent through our future actions to each other rather than dwelling on his absence. Christopher Ryan Walsh, a man devoid of vanity and devoted to the service and to the welfare of others would hope that out of these tragic circumstances something beautiful could take root in all of our hearts. Chris would hope that his memory would serve as an example to spur small kindnesses and acts of devotion and service to all of our community, friends and loved ones. To look past the things that separate us and to focus on the things that unite us,” the Springfield Police Department shared on Facebook.

In February 2024, members of the SPD honor guard spent time cleaning up the memorial outside the Kum & Go honoring the victims of the shooting.

This week, the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks held a blood drive to honor Officer Walsh.

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