On the night of March 17, 2022, Bonne Terre Police Officer Lane Anthony Burns, 30, was killed while responding to a disturbance at a Motel 6 on Highway K. Burns and Corporal Garrett Worley were ambushed when a man exited the motel room and opened fire. Both officers were struck; Burns was taken to a local hospital and later died of his wounds. Worley was seriously injured and airlifted to St. Louis for treatment. The shooter, identified as James Emery, was fatally shot at the scene after Burns and Worley returned fire.

Burns had served in law enforcement for ten years, five of them with Bonne Terre. A Carthage, Missouri native and a 2009 graduate of Carthage High School, he left behind a son and a daughter, ages five and nine. The Missouri State Highway Patrol led the investigation.