KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) has issued a blue alert in Kansas on behalf of Missouri, after a Lee’s Summit officer was shot and critically injured Sunday night.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) issued the blue alert Monday morning trying to locate a suspect wanted in related to the shooting. The alert was later extended into Kansas.
Authorities are looking for Thomas Eugene Tolbert, 27. Tolbert is a black male, around 240 pounds, and is 6 foot 2 inches tall with brown eyes and black hair. At the time he was last seen, he was wearing a black top with a hood, and black shorts.
He is armed with a handgun and considered dangerous.
Around 11 p.m, Sunday, June 1, law enforcement responded to a domestic disturbance at 3560 SW Hollywood Drive in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. After a short foot pursuit between Tolbert and officers, Tolbert shot a Lee’s Summit police officer, seriously injuring him.
Tolbert left the scene in a vehicle that has since been recovered in Grandview, Missouri, but Tolbert remains on the loose.
A wireless emergency alert was issued in several Kansas City metro counties on the Kansas side.
Anyone who sees Tolbert should immediately call 911. Any other information about his whereabouts should be reported at 1-800-KS-CRIME.
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JACKSON COUNTY—A police officer was injured in a shooting while investigating a domestic disturbance and the search for the suspect identified as 27-year-old Thomas Tolbert continues.
Just after 11:00 p.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to the 3500 block of SW Hollywood Drive in Lee's Summit on the report of a domestic disturbance, according to a media release from police.
As the first officer arrived on scene in the apartment complex; and while waiting for his assisting officer, the officer observed a male subject running from the scene.
The officer chased the suspect on foot and quickly advised via the radio that shots had been fired. No shots were fired by the officer. The officer was struck multiple times.
Investigators are working with area law enforcement partners to track Tolbert.
There is no perceived danger in the area of the original crime scene. Multiple witnesses gave a statement that the suspect fled the area in a vehicle. The officer was transported to an area trauma center with serious injuries.