Two Police Officers Fatally Shot Outside Topeka Grocery
Two Police Officers Fatally Shot Outside Topeka Grocery - KansasCity.com
Two police officers were fatally shot outside a grocery store in Topeka while responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle Sunday evening, and authorities surrounded a house before dawn this morning seeking the suspected gunman, authorities said.
A standoff at the house near Southwest Third Street and Western Avenue ended before 6:30 a.m., and a person from the home was taken away in an ambulance.
Topeka Police Chief Ronald Miller called the Sunday evening shootings of Cpl. David Gogian and Officer Jeff Atherly “unspeakable.” He said Gogian, 50, and Atherly, 29, both were shot in the head by a gunman who opened fire on them within minutes of their arrival to investigate the vehicle.
“It’s clearly beyond words. It’s unspeakable almost about why this happens and why this is happening in America at this stage in our history,” Miller said.
Police believed a 22-year-old man fired on the officers from the vehicle. He remained at large Sunday night.
Miller didn’t know the motive for the shooting in central Topeka but said the suspect has a criminal history, though he wouldn’t elaborate.