A heated argument erupted into misplaced gunfire in Powell earlier this week.
The McDonald County Sheriff's Office reports that, at 12:13 p.m. on Monday, March 29, deputies were dispatched to 38 Woodpecker Lane, off of Skylark Road, in Powell regarding a peace disturbance with shots fired.
After investigating the scene and speaking with witnesses it was determined that a group of people were in a verbal altercation over a mobile home on the property that was scheduled to be relocated, according to a report by the McDonald County Sheriff's Office. According to Sheriff's Deputy Michael Hall, at some point in the altercation, Rick Thurston presented a firearm and began firing what is believed to be a .22 pistol.
Several people then grabbed Thurston in an attempt to subdue him and, in the ensuing struggle, the gun discharged and struck Thurston through the hand and into his chest, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Thurston then allegedly departed the crime scene and traveled to a friend's house where he called emergency services. He was then air-lifted to a Joplin hospital for treatment of his wounds and said to be in stable condition according to Hall.