Man found dead inside house where Kansas City police officers were shot late Tuesday
A man was found dead inside a house about 18 hours into a standoff that started late Tuesday night when three Kansas City police officers were shot.
The incident unfolded in the 2300 block of Blue Ridge Boulevard and continued through much of Wednesday. In all, three people were taken into police custody between Tuesday night and early Wednesday.
A woman was found uninjured in the house as authorities entered the home, and two other people surrendered to police during the standoff Tuesday night.
Sgt. Andy Bell, a spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, said investigators from the patrol as well as the FBI were only able to gain access to the house Wednesday afternoon after tactical officers forced entry. It was not immediately clear whether the man killed in the home had died during the shootout with officers, Bell said, and he had yet to be identified.
Kansas City Police Department officers were executing a search warrant just after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. They knocked on the door of a residence and identified themselves, the police department said. Someone shot at the officers, who returned fire.
The injured officers were taken to the hospital by other officers at the scene.
Speaking Tuesday night outside University Health where the officers were being treated, Police Chief Stacey Graves said their injuries were not life-threatening and that they were “alert,” awake and able to talk.
“That’s the best situation that, under these circumstances, that I can hope for,” Graves said.
The Independence Police Department and then the highway patrol took over the standoff, which was ongoing.
By 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, two people had left the home voluntarily. Police initially did not know if they were suspects, and weren’t able to say exactly when they left the location, according to Officer Jack Taylor, a spokesman for IPD.
Officials used a drone and robot to search the home but at the time weren’t sure if anyone else was inside, he said.
Around 4 p.m., SWAT teams with the highway patrol and the FBI entered and secured the house, said Bell, the MSHP spokesman. A man was found dead, Bell said, and a woman was located. She was not injured and is in police custody.
Authorities were expected to be on scene for several more hours to process the area for evidence. Bell said the woman would be interviewed by investigators.
One of the people who left the home was charged with unrelated offenses, federal prosecutors said in a news release Wednesday afternoon. Jimmie R. Lewis, Jr., 50, was charged with one count each of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
This story was originally published March 1, 2023 at 4:23 PM.
