Topeka police say a murder investigation led to a chase that ended with a downtown shootout. At least one police officer was injured in an exchange of gunfire.
Police said officers were called to a home early Thursday in the 3500 block of SW Kerry Avenue, and they found one person dead and another person injured. The second person was in stable condition at a hospital.
Police identified a suspect and an officer saw the suspect’s vehicle near the Hi-Crest Neighborhood. The vehicle was chased to downtown Topeka near SW 6th Avenue and South Kansas Avenue, and the suspect fired at law enforcement officers, who returned fire.
Topeka Police Chief Bryan Wheeles said the suspect fired shots at officers throughout the chase. One officer was injured and he was treated and released at a hospital. Several police cars were hit. Wheeles said the suspect was hit by return fire from the officers and he was taken to a hospital. Police said the suspect is a 33-year-old man from Excelsior Springs, Missouri, and he was in serious but stable condition.
Wheeles said nine Topeka officers and a deputy from Shawnee County have been placed on administrative leave, and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation will look into the circumstances of the chase and the shooting.
