Kansas City police exchange gunfire with suspect in domestic violence case
Kansas City police said they exchanged gunfire with a man suspected in a domestic violence assault during a standoff Thursday night, after which the man was found suffering from a gunshot wound.
Police did not say whether the wound was a result of police gunfire, but said the injury was not thought to be life-threatening.
Officers responded just after 9 p.m. to the 9800 block of North Cherry Street in response to a domestic violence assault, according to a statement from the Kansas City Police Department.
When officers arrived, two people left the home. One of them was the victim of an assault, police said.
Officers could see the suspect had a rifle inside.
While police got the victims to a safe place and set up a perimeter, the man “was threatening to shoot people,” police spokeswoman Capt. Leslie Foreman wrote in an email.
He fired shots at officers and police returned fire, Foreman said. No officers were injured. Negotiators were on the scene communicating with him.
The man was arrested about 3:15 a.m. and taken to a hospital for treatment of the gunshot wound.
Police did not say how many officers fired their weapons during the incident.
The shooting was being investigated by the police department’s homicide unit, even though for almost a year the Missouri State Highway Patrol has been investigating all Kansas City police shootings that caused death or serious injury.
In a written statement, police spokesman Sgt. Jake Becchina said several hours passed before police knew the suspect had a gunshot injury. During those hours, “several steps of our investigation had taken place,” he said.
“Once it was discovered the suspect had a gunshot injury, Highway Patrol was contacted and after some discussion,” Becchina said, “the decision was made that due to our investigators already taking the investigative steps, and not knowing the origin of the suspect’s gunshot injury, KCPD would continue the investigation.”
The man was treated and released from the hospital. He was still in police custody Friday.
This story was originally published May 21, 2021 at 12:02 PM.
