UPDATE 3:40 p.m. Sunday: Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents and the Crime Scene Response Team (CSRT) are in Saline County at the request of the Salina Police Department (SPD) to investigate a multiple shooting scene incident that occurred early this morning.
The KBI noted that at approximately 2:30 a.m. Sunday, an SPD officer "observed a silver 2006 Lincoln Town Car that failed to stop at multiple stop signs. When the officer initiated a traffic stop on North Ninth St. in Thomas Park in Salina, the driver of the vehicle did not stop, and a pursuit began. An occupant of the Town Car fired multiple shots at the officer’s vehicle, and the officer was struck once in his foot."
The officer continued to pursue the Town Car north on North Ninth Street, then west on Pleasant Hill Road, and south on Halstead Road, the KBI, noted.
"The Saline County Sheriff’s Office and the Salina Police Department set up stop sticks near Halstead Rd. and I-70 in an effort to deflate the approaching vehicle’s tires. As they attempted to deploy the devices, an occupant of the vehicle fired at them. One police officer and one deputy returned fire. The vehicle’s tires were not deflated, and the chase continued," the KBI explained.
The driver lost control of the Town Car near the intersection of West Crawford Street and South Halstead Road and the vehicle crashed into a ditch. The subjects fled on foot. One of the subjects, a 37-year-old male from Wichita, was located in a nearby field and taken into custody, according to the KBI.
A search for the second suspect continued into Sunday afternoon. Based on information that the KBI developed, KHP troopers were able to locate the vehicle the 36-year-old man was traveling in after a Capitol police officer spotted the silver vehicle near the I-70 East Topeka Turnpike Interchange, according to office Jose Saucedo.
KHP troopers made a felony stop on the Turnpike and took the man into custody without incident, according to the KBI.
"Based on information that the KBI developed, KHP troopers were able to locate the vehicle the 36-year-old man was traveling in. Then, at approximately 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon near the I-70 East Topeka Turnpike Interchange, KHP troopers stopped the vehicle and took the man into custody without incident," the KBI reported.
EMS transported the Salina Police officer to the Salina Regional Health Center for treatment. He is expected to fully recover.
Authorities released no additional details.
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A Salina police officer was shot this morning during a chase that began in north Salina and one of two suspect remains at large.
According to information from the Salina Police Department (SPD), at 2:32 a.m. Sunday, a Salina police officer observed a vehicle failing to stop for multiple stops signs in north Salina. When the officer activated his emergency lights and siren to conduct a traffic stop, the vehicle fled.
At the beginning of the pursuit, an occupant of the vehicle fired multiple gun shots at the pursuing police vehicle on North Ninth Street near Thomas Park. One of these rounds fired by the suspect struck the pursuing officer in his foot, the SPD information noted.
The vehicle pursuit left the Salina city limits on North Ninth Street and West Pleasant Hill Road with two Salina police officers pursuing the vehicle, according to the SPD information.
During the pursuit in Saline County, officers and Saline County Sheriff's deputies attempted to set up vehicle tire deflating devices in front of the fleeing vehicle. They, too, were fired upon by occupants of the fleeing vehicle while attempting to place these tire deflating devices on North Halstead Road near Interstate 70, SPD reported. Both the deputy and the officer returned fire.
A 2:40 a.m., the fleeing vehicle left the roadway in the area of West Crawford and South Halstead Road and crashed, SPD noted. The occupants of the vehicle fled from the vehicle. One occupant, a 37-year-old male from Wichita, was located hiding in a nearby field and taken into custody and a second suspect is still at large, according to information from SPD.
The SPD, the Saline County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), and the Kansas Highway Patrol have multiple personnel at the scene and are actively looking for the additional suspect who is believed to be armed and extremely dangerous.
The Salina police officer who was shot was transported to the Salina Regional Health Center by a Salina Fire Department EMS unit. He is presently in stable condition and it is anticipated he will make a full recovery, SPD reported.
The KBI has been called in to take over the investigation regarding this officer involved shooting, SPD noted.