WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. — Officials say that a United States Air Force airman who was shot at an off-base residence near Warrensburg has died.
Authorities say that Senior Airman John J. Bottom, 22, was shot early Saturday morning in his Johnson County, Missouri, home. According to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, the shooting occurred when another male subject—identified only as a friend and acquaintance of the victim—fired a handgun in the home, striking Bottom.
Bottom was taken to a Kansas City-area hospital, where he died on Sunday afternoon.
“We have lost a valued member of Team Whiteman,” said Brig. Gen. Glen VanHerck, 509th Bomb Wing commander, in a statement released on Sunday evening. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, loved ones, and all of Team Whiteman during this difficult time.”
Whiteman AFB officials are assisting the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation. The alleged shooter has been taken into custody pending formal charges.
Bottom was assigned to the 509th Security Forces Squadron.
