Seven U.S. law enforcement officers were injured Tuesday when a deck collapsed beneath a SWAT team serving a high-risk warrant at a Missouri apartment building.
“During a recent U.S. Marshals sex offender warrant operation, Operation Adam’s Watch, a wooden deck unexpectedly collapsed beneath several deputies and task force officers,” U.S. Marshals Service said on social media.
Four deputy U.S. marshals, two members of the North Missouri Drug Task Force and a Moberly police officer were hurt in the collapse, Steven Lewis, U.S. marshal for the Eastern District of Missouri told ABC affiliate KMIZ. All seven were taken to hospital, but none of the injuries was considered life-threatening.
Lewis said some officers suffered broken bones and other injuries, and some could require surgery.
“Someone described it almost as if a trap door opened and it fell that way,” Lewis said. “Not away from the structure, but straight down, which gave them almost no time to react.”
Two people were arrested in connection with the operation, Lewis said. One was taken into custody at the apartment building, while the other was located later in the day after not being home when officers arrived.
The collapse left about half of the deck at the two-storey building missing and cut off access to three upstairs units, according to KMIZ. Management was helping affected tenants find other accommodations.
The cause of the collapse is under investigation.
