Here’s what we know so far about the fatal police shooting in Independence on Thursday
An Independence police officer and a Jackson County courts worker were killed and two more officers were injured in a shooting Thursday afternoon at an Independence home during an eviction, according to police and court officials.
The incident drew a large police response to the area of Elsea Smith and Bundschu roads.
Here’s what we know so far:
Who was shot in Independence?
Three police officers and one court employee were shot at an Independence home. Police and the courts confirmed that Independence police officer Cody Allen and Jackson County courts civil process server Drexel Mack died.
A tactical response team removed Allen’s body from the porch, and officers from the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department brought him to a nearby hospital.
The names of the injured police officers were not immediately made public.
Where did the shooting occur?
Thursday’s shooting took place on the front porch of a private residence in the 1100 block of Elsea Smith Road, near Bundschu Road, in northeastern Independence around 1 p.m.
Nearby Fort Osage High School briefly went into lockdown as police responded to the scene, with school officials locking all exterior doors. The lockdown was lifted around 2:30 p.m., and the school planned to dismiss students as normal.
Second officer-involved shooting in the past week
Last Thursday, Independence police officers shot and killed 32-year-old Sief Bani-Khalid of Independence while responding to an armed disturbance at a home in the 700 block of North Frandsen Road.
Officers were checking out a report that gunshots had been fired in the area.
When was a police officer last shot in Independence?
Shootings of on-duty police officers are rare, but not unheard of in Independence. In 2021, Independence police officer Blaize Madrid-Evans, 22, was shot while searching a house for a man for whom the department had an arrest warrant.
Madrid-Evans later died of his wounds at a hospital.
This story is evolving, and the latest updates can be found here.
This story was originally published February 29, 2024 at 4:59 PM.
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