Man shoots himself Wednesday afternoon
LINCOLN COUNTY, MISSOURI -- Information courtesy of KMOV, St. Louis, video courtesy our sister station KHQA in Quincy, Illinois:
Sources say a man accused of kidnapping a 4-year-old Louisiana, Missouri girl shot himself Wednesday afternoon.
KMOV out of St. Louis reports that the man is alive and in critical condition.
Sources close to the investigation say a store reported that the suspect purchased clothing from the store, which led them to a property in Lincoln County, Missouri.
When police approached the property in Hawk Point, the suspect apparently shot himself.
Sources have confirmed that the suspect was 38-year-old Paul Sterling Smith.
He also goes by Paul Steven Smith.
He was a convicted sex offender who was in jail on drug charges and released two weeks ago. Smith pleaded guilty to sodomy in 1995 and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. His victim was 10-years-old. Smith at one point lived in an apartment in south St. Louis. Court records list his most recent address in Hawk Point.
According to various state websites, Smith's last child sex abuse case happened in Rolla.
He also served time with the Missouri Department of Corrections for tampering with a motor vehicle and receiving stolen property.
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