Dexter, Mo., man shot, killed in Cape

A Thursday night shooting on Cape Girardeau's west side has killed a Dexter, Mo., man.

According to Cape Girardeau police spokesman Sgt. Barry Hovis, Zachary C. Snyder, 23, was about to be taken into custody by a Missouri Department of Corrections parole officer for a parole violation when he was shot.

"One of their investigators is here. Anytime you have an officer involved in a shooting, there's always an investigation," Hovis said, adding that Cape Girardeau police will do their own investigation.

The parole officer was one of several people taken to the city's police department for questioning.

Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton said Snyder died before 8 p.m. He did not know what type of gun was used.

"I can tell you this: There will be a coroner's inquest," Clifton said. An inquest means a jury of six people listen to evidence and determine whether a death resulted from a homicide, suicide, accident or whether a specific cause cannot be determined.

Dan Williams, a neighbor who lives in the same Themis Street apartment building where the shooting occurred, said he heard two men and a woman shouting before the shooting.

"I only heard one shot," he said.

It was not clear Thursday evening whether Snyder was living in the apartment building at 2857 Themis St. Hovis said Snyder's last known address was in Dexter, Mo.

Williams and other neighbors said they regularly call police to the apartment complex for a variety of issues. They did not know whether Snyder was living there.

It is the first shooting death in Cape Girardeau County this year.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126

Cape Girardeau police investigated the scene following a fatal shooting Thursday at 2857 Themis St. (Aaron Eisenhauer)