MO - Marine Veteran Sent Heartbreaking Text to Loved Ones After Being Fatally Shot at Facebook Marketplace Meetup, 18 Jan 2025

[Knox]

A decorated U.S. Marine veteran who was shot and killed at his Missouri home during what he thought was the legitimate Facebook Marketplace sale of an iPhone used the last moments of his life to call 911 and text his family goodbye.

Michael Ryan Burke, 42, was shot and killed at his home in Columbia on Sunday, Jan. 18, while trying to sell his iPhone, the Columbia Police Department said in a statement.

The alleged robbery-turned-murder unfolded at about 8:15 p.m. when Columbia Police responded to a call about shots fired at Ridgemont Court in Columbia.

After being shot, Burke called 911 to report that someone had come to his house to buy a phone from him and shot him, according to a probable cause statement obtained by PEOPLE.

During that 911 call, he was able to give authorities a description of his alleged attackers.

Marine Veteran Sent Heartbreaking Text to Loved Ones After Being Fatally Shot at Facebook Marketplace Meetup

Ryan Burke, 42, of Columbia, Mo., was trying to sell an iPhone when he was shot and killed, police allege.

people.com

 

[annpats]

What a horrendous thing to happen.
What on earth is going on in the US?!
To be shot and killed, on your own doorstep, like it's nothing.
RIP.