Suspect who exchanged gunfire with officers has died, Kansas City, Kansas police say
A carjacking suspect who exchanged gunfire with police officers Sunday morning in Kansas City, Kansas, has died, according to police.
The suspect, a 25-year-old man who has not been publicly identified, died at a hospital after he was struck in the exchange of gunfire about 11:47 a.m. at 18th Street and Parallel Parkway.
Nearly 20 minutes earlier, Kansas City, Missouri, police officers identified a vehicle and suspect in an armed carjacking that occurred Thursday in Kansas City, Kansas. They tried to stop the vehicle near Independence Avenue and Benton Boulevard, but the suspect did not yield, so officers began a pursuit, according to police.
The chase went into Kansas City, Kansas, and ended when the suspect’s vehicle crashed behind a convenience store, said Nancy Chartrand, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department. He then fled on foot, she said.
Footage captured by officers’ body and dash cameras showed the suspect ran west toward 18th Street with a handgun, Chartrand told reporters in an update Sunday night.
The suspect turned and shot at officers, who returned fire and struck him, police said.
Four Kansas City police officers as well as one from Kansas City, Kansas, were present, though it remained unclear which of them fired at the suspect, Chartrand said.
“Who fired and how many times is part of the investigation,” she said.
The officers involved in the shooting, who have not been publicly identified, were placed on paid leave pending the outcome of the investigation, as is protocol. None were injured in the exchange of gunfire.
Chartrand said Sunday night it’s “to be determined” if the video footage will be made publicly available.
Earlier in the day, Lisa Walker-Yeager, a candidate for 1st district commissioner in Wyandotte County, said she hoped it would be.
“We need to have transparency,” she told The Star at the scene.
The carjacking the man was suspected in occurred Thursday at 18th Street and Garfield Avenue, which is down the street from where the shooting unfolded Sunday.
In the carjacking case, the victim told officers he had been giving the suspect a ride when the suspect pulled out a handgun and demanded the vehicle, according to police. The suspect then took off with it.
Police asked anyone who witnessed the shooting or who has footage of it to call Kansas City, Kansas police at 913-596-3000 or the anonymous TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
