Gov. Jay Nixon on Wednesday issued a statement following the shooting death of the former Director of Adult Institutions for the Missouri Department of Corrections, Tom Clements.
At the time of his death, Clements was serving as the head of the Colorado Department of Corrections, a position he took in 2011.
Clements had served with the Missouri Department of Corrections for three decades.
“This is a heartbreaking tragedy for Tom Clements’ family and everyone who was fortunate enough to have known him, including his many friends at the Missouri Department of Corrections,” Gov. Nixon said. “Tom dedicated his professional life and his considerable skills to public service and protection, and the citizens of Missouri join the people of Colorado in mourning this tremendous loss.”
Clements was fatally shot Tuesday night as he opened the front door of his home just hours before Gov. John W. Hickenlooper was scheduled to sign into law a series of restrictive gun control measures.
Officials in El Paso County, Colorado say Clements may have been shot because he refused to allow a sex offender from Saudi Arabia return to his home country. But officials have also said they cannot yet rule out a random act of violence.
Clements, 58, lived with his family in Monument, near Colorado Springs in central Colorado, the authorities said. The police have not identified a suspect.
The shooting is resonating in Columbia, where he lived for decades.
Like many state government workers, Clements commuted to Jefferson City from Columbia.
Former neighbor Chuck Headley says Clements was a serious bicyclist and devoted father whose job overseeing Missouri’s 20 adult prisons didn’t outwardly intrude upon their quiet suburban neighborhood.
Clements and his psychologist wife raised their two daughters, who are now grown, in the Highlands community in south Columbia. One of his daughters is a graduate of Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar.
Clements was shot Tuesday night when he answered the door at his home outside Colorado Springs. Police were searching for the gunman Wednesday.