This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
After an hourslong standoff in a southern Springfield neighborhood, police took into custody a man suspected of forcing his way onto a school bus with students on it and attacking the driver.
Springfield Police Department officers on Wednesday, April 3, took William Trenton Moore into custody. Police spokesperson Cris Swaters said Moore was uncooperative and resisted arrest, leading officers to use a K9 unit.
According to Greene County Jail records, Moore, 25, of Springfield, was being held on first degree charges of kidnapping, stealing and failing to register as a sex offender. Charges have not yet been filed by the Greene County Prosecutor's office as of Thursday morning.
Police responded at 8:36 a.m. to Cambridge and Barnes streets, where Moore allegedly boarded a Springfield Public Schools bus and fought with the driver, Swaters said.
Moore allegedly pried open the door of the bus, which was carrying 13 Pershing Middle School students, said school spokesperson Stephen Hall. The suspect took the keys from the driver, who began to evacuate students from the back of the bus. Hall said that all students aboard the bus were accounted for and were unhurt.
After the altercation, the suspect barricaded himself in a house located in the 2800 block of South Barnes Avenue. After resisting arrest, Swaters said, he was detained at about 4:40 p.m. No officers were injured in the arrest; Moore’s current medical condition was not released. Swaters said he would be medically evaluated for confinement.
A motive for the attack is not yet known, Swaters said. The investigation remains ongoing, and charges have not yet been filed in Greene County,
The Missouri Sex Offender Registry lists a William Trenton Moore as a registered sex offender. He was convicted in 2021 on charges of kidnapping and sexual misconduct from an event in 2019. His address is listed as being on the same block where the suspect was barricaded. Police have not yet confirmed that the man they arrested is the same Moore, or that the home where he was holed up belonged to him.
Hall said the 13 students aboard the bus at the time have either been picked up by parents or taken to the school. Counselors will be available to help students as needed.
“Student and staff safety is our focus,” Hall said. “We are thankful that students and staff followed the appropriate safety training.”
Reporter's note: This report was updated at 5:52 p.m. April 3.
