Two-year-old girl killed by SWAT officer’s bullet after parents’ murder-suicide in Kansas

Kansas authorities say Eli Crawford fired more than 90 rounds at police during a deadly standoff. But it was a police bullet, they say, that killed his two-year-old daughter

Investigators say Clesslynn Crawford, 2, died after being struck by a police bullet during a violent standoff with her father (Knell Mortuary)

The bullet that killed a two-year-old girl during a hostage crisis in Kansas was from a police officer’s gun, authorities now say.

The toddler, Clesslynn Crawford, died last month during a deadly standoff between her father, Eli Crawford, and members of the Joplin Police Department. When officers arrived at the family’s trailer home in Baxter Springs, Mr Crawford allegedly shot both the girl’s mother, Taylor Shutte, and himself.

In the aftermath, police found both Ms Shutte and Clesslynn dead inside the trailer. But according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, it was a police bullet that killed Clesslynn.

“The investigation indicates that 2-year-old Clesslynn Crawford died as a result of the single round fired by an officer from the Joplin Police Department,” the Kansas Bureau of Investigation revealed in a press release on Monday.

Ms Shutte, the Bureau said, was killed when Mr Crawford shot her multiple times as she tried to escape the trailer. Mr Crawford himself then “died of a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

The KBI says it is still investigating the incident.

In a previous statement, the Bureau said Mr Crawford fired almost 100 rounds at police after they arrived outside his trailer. Only one bullet, the Bureau said, was fired back.

“During the incident Crawford is believed to have used several guns to fire over 90 rounds from the trailer at responding law enforcement officers,” the KBI said on 28 March, just two days after the shooting. “At approximately 9:25pm, a law enforcement officer fired one round into the camping trailer.”

That round appears to be the one that killed Clesslynn. On Monday, the Joplin Police Department confirmed that this bullet came from one of its SWAT team members.

“This is a horrific outcome to what had already started as a very tragic incident,” Joplin Police Chief Sloan Rowland told The Joplin Globe. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families involved and the surrounding community. We ask that you pray for the victims and everyone involved.”

An online obituary described Clesslynn as “very loving and always happy.”

“She was extremely smart for her age and loved putting a smile on everyone’s face,” it said. “There was never a dull moment around this sweet girl.”

Clesslynn’s funeral is scheduled for Wednesday, 6 April.