2 Kansas City Police Officers Shot in Separate Incidents: Authorities

A stock photo of police tape. Larry W. Smith/Getty Images

Two officers in Kansas City, Missouri, were shot in separate incidents on Thursday, and one of them is in critical condition, authorities said.

The officers were both responding to calls for help, according to police.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas wrote: “Horrified to hear today of an incident in which a @kcpolice veteran and a @RideKCTransit driver were shot in Northeast Kansas City by a robbery suspect who opened fire on both. My thoughts are with both victims and their families and I thank them for their service and courage.”

Added Missouri Gov. Mike Parson: “This afternoon, two law enforcement officers in the Kansas City region were shot. One is in very serious condition. Please join Teresa and me in praying for these officers and their families.”

Smith said police were called to a disturbance near a McDonald’s, and a witness told KMBC that a man left the fast-food restaurant with a gun.

“He was acting like he was out of his mind. No shirt. His pants were halfway down to his knees. Angry. Yelling,” the witness, James Boyd, told the news outlet.

Police said that the suspect ran off on foot during the incident.

“The subject, suspect, turned around and fired shots towards the officers striking one Kansas City police officer. The other officer returned fire, striking the suspect,” said Sgt. Bill Lowe, of the Missouri Highway Patrol, reported KMBC.

The officer was taken to a hospital, where he was reported to be in critical condition. The suspect, 31-year-old Ky Johnson, died at the scene, officials said.

The other shooting occurred on a municipal bus after a Kansas City Area Transportation Authority bus driver spotted a man allegedly robbing someone at a bus stop and then get on the vehicle. The driver notified police and drove until an officer arrived, according to KSHB.

The Missouri Highway Patrol confirmed the incident, writing that when an officer tried to get on the bus, the suspect shot the officer and the bus driver.

“An officer, fearing for his life, returned fire striking the suspect,” the agency wrote.

The officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the incident, while the suspect sustained critical injuries, according to the highway patrol.

The bus driver’s injuries were not life-threatening, and she is being treated at an area hospital, said Lowe, the Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman, to KHSB.

“She was under a tremendous amount of pressure,” Lowe said. “For her to think quickly to not only notify the Kansas City Police Department but to also decide to drive a little slower than normal, to make sure that officers were able to arrive on the scene, that was extremely heroic on her part.”