Wichita police say man killed when riding mower overturned

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) – A man has died after becoming pinned under water by an overturned riding lawn mower in Wichita, police there said.

The accident happened around 2 p.m. Wednesday in east Wichita when the 40-year-old man was mowing property in a residential neighborhood, police said. Investigators said man was operating the mower when it slid into a lake on the property and pinned the man under the water.

Witnesses reported the man was submerged for about 10 minutes before first responders found him, Wichita Police Lt. Kris Henderson said. Medics pulled him from the water and performed CPR, but could not revive him.

Police said the man was employed for a lawn service. His name was not immediately released.

Toxic substance mailed to county officials in Kansas

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) – A federal terrorism task force is investigating after mail laced with a dangerous toxin was sent to a Sedgwick County government office, causing coughing and skin irritation for two employees and forcing several more to undergo decontamination.

The Sedgwick County Finance Department in the county courthouse received the certified letter on Monday, the Wichita Eagle reported.

The three-page letter was coated in a white powder, and two employees who handled the letter experienced symptoms of coughing and skin irritation, Sedgwick County Manager Tom Stolz said. One of the employees was sent to a hospital for observation. Both are expected to be OK.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force determined that the substance is diaminotoluene, a chemical used in dye making, Stolz said. It is highly toxic and potentially fatal if enough is inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin.

Three other finance employees, two courthouse police officers and two sheriff’s deputies underwent decontamination as a precaution, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Stolz said the letter purported to come from Moorish nationalists, but the origin of the letter remains under investigation.

The Southern Poverty Law Center defines Moorish nationalists as people who believe African Americans constitute an elite class with sovereign immunity that places them beyond federal and state authority.

3 Kansas police officers injured by shotgun in vacant home

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) – Three Wichita, Kansas, police officers were injured by a shotgun blast when they checked out a vacant home, and authorities were investigating Sunday whether it had been rigged to fire when the door opened.

Wichita Police said Sunday that “a modified, loaded shotgun” discharged as the officers entered the home around 4 p.m. Saturday. Investigators determined that no one was in the home at the time, but the homeowners had called police suspecting someone was inside after noticing that some windows were open.

Police said two officers remained hospitalized Sunday with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening. One officer was in serious but stable condition and the other was being treated for minor injuries. A third officer who was hurt was treated at a hospital Saturday and released.

Officers surrounded the home for several hours Saturday before determining that no one was inside. Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said at a news conference Saturday evening that it wasn’t immediately clear whether the house had been booby trapped before officers arrived.

Police spokesman Officer Trevor Macy told The Wichita Eagle that investigators are trying to determine whether the shotgun had been rigged to fire when the officers entered.

“Apparently there were several modifications made to this one,” Macy said.

Officers from the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are helping Wichita police investigate what happened.

Wichita teen dragged to death in carjacking, arrest made

WICHITA, Kan. – A Wichita, Kansas family is mourning the loss of their teen daughter after she was dragged to her death.

13-year-old Briana Ibarra was in a running car parked in front of a restaurant Saturday waiting for her family to get food. Police say Kevin Palmer jumped in and drove away with the young girl in the car. Ibarra tried to escape while the car was moving but got caught in the seatbelt. She died at the scene.

Palmer was arrested after trying to run. he is currently in jail facing six charges, including first-degree murder.

Police say the investigation is ongoing.