KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A man is dead Friday after stealing a Kansas City, Kansas, police vehicle and pointing a gun at officers, according to police.
The shooting happened near 95th and Parallel Parkway around 8 a.m.
A Kansas City, Missouri, police spokesperson said a KCK officer responded to a call regarding a disabled vehicle near 92nd and Parallel. Investigators said the vehicle appeared abandoned when the officer arrived.
Then a man appeared and pointed a gun at the officer, who took cover, according to investigators. Now investigators are looking into if the situation was a set-up.
The suspect got into the officer’s police cruiser and took off, police said. The officer called for backup. The man only made it a few blocks before stepping out of the squad car about five blocks away where other officers had arrived.
“The same individual got out of the vehicle, pointed a gun at the officers, and at that point gunfire was exchanged. Multiple officers fired,” KCK Police Chief Karl Oakman said.
The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. The man’s identity has not yet been released. So far investigators have only said the person is an adult man.
No officers were injured in the shooting.
The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department said it is handling the investigation, at the request of KCK Police.
KCMO police couldn’t confirm if the man fired any shots and wouldn’t speculate if the disabled vehicle was a setup.
“You know, that certainly could be what happened. Since it’s preliminary, it’s at the very beginning stages. We’re working to determine that,” Capt. Leslie Foreman, a KCPD spokesperson, said.
Neighbor Cynthia Park lives in the path of the brief pursuit.
“Because I’m in my house doing my thing and I hear the sirens, not thinking about it,” Park said. “And then I go, ‘Maybe I need to start thinking about this.'”
She said Parallel Parkway has become busier in the 30 years she’s lived in the area, adding growth around the Legends has led to strange behavior in this specific spot.
“Especially getting this close to home, it is scary. And we have people that stop in our driveway all the time needing help. And you get scared to open your door to those people cause you don’t know if they’re going to shoot you or what,” Park said.
“I had one stand here the other day wanting a cigarette — no cars around, nothing — wanted a cigarette. I’m there holding a ball bat in my hand because I don’t know who she is.”