A Kansas City, Mo., police officer is in critical condition after being shot in the head Thursday when he was responding to a call that a man was waiving a handgun around in a neighborhood on the east side of the city.
The suspect reportedly ran once officers arrived on the scene. The suspect began shooting at officers, who returned fire. A male police officer was struck in the head and the suspect is reportedly dead.
Missouri State Highway Patrol said they believed only one suspect was involved, but officers are still investigating whether or not others were involved in the incident, according to the local 360aroko news outlet.
“We talk about the violence in this town and we can see where this is headed,” Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) Chief Rick Smith said. “As we had to go and bring a mother to the hospital today, her first words were ‘I’m angry about all this violence in this city.’ I hope, I plead that everyone hears those words and we work 10 times harder than we did today on violence in this city.”
The police officer has reportedly been with the KCPD for about two and a half years.
Kansas City is on track to experience their deadliest year on record, with nearly 100 homicides this year alone.
This time last year there were 67 reported homicides, and this year is outpacing 2017, which is currently the deadliest year on record with 155 homicides, according to a report by 360aproko news.
Smith told reporters this was not a time for politics but a time to focus on the severity of the crime situation in Kansas City.
This was the second shooting on a police officer Thursday. The first police officer has been released from the hospital after sustaining non-life-threatening injuries.
According to reporting done by 360aproko news, over 80 killings this year have been completed by a firearm.
Non-fatal shootings have also increased with 315 survivors of shooting attacks within the first six months of this year. Twenty percent of this year’s shooting were carried out in May, with 82 people having been shot – a reported 75 percent increase from last year.
