One man dies after Bunceton standoff

A 31-year-old man died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds shortly after 10 a.m. Friday after a five-hour long standoff on Thursday south of Boonville with multiple agencies. Jason Steding was flown to University Hospital in Columbia after hours of negotiation.

The standoff on Thursday closed down Hickory Street off Route J in Bunceton and heightened security at Bunceton High School.

Sheriff Jerry Wolfe said deputies arrived at the house on Hickory Street as part of an investigation on two crimes Thursday afternoon – a stolen vehicle in Boonville and a burglary reported in the county.

Someone reported a Chevy van at the scene of the burglary similar to the one stolen in Boonville. Deputies found the van burnt on Hickory Street.

Sheriff Wolfe said when deputies approached the house, the man inside threatened them with a handgun. The man and deputies shot at each other, but Sheriff Wolfe did not say if anyone was injured in the exchange.

A neighbor told ABC 17 News deputies used her house as a base of operations with the Missouri State Highway Patrol to negotiate with the man inside, armed with semiautomatic weapons and bulletproof vests.

After five hours of tense negotiation, someone shot again, just before 6 p.m. That’s when Sheriff Wolfe said law enforcement called Staff for Life to airlift the man to University Hospital.

Sheriff Wolfe said officers stood outside the house when the second shot happened, but he didn’t know who fired.