Two Officers Shot And Killed In Topeka, Authorities Searching For Suspect
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW)-- Police confirmed Sunday night that two Topeka Police Officers died after being shot while responding to reports of a suspicious vehicle at a Dillons grocery store in central Topeka.
Topeka Police confirmed Sunday that CPL David Gogian and Officer Jeff Atherly were both killed in the line of duty.
Police identified the suspected shooter as David Edward Tiscareno, 22, of Topeka. He is considered armed and extremely dangerous.
Police continued searching for Tiscareno early Monday morning.
 |
| Suspected shooter, David E. Tiscareno, 22 |
Three officers responded to 1400 SW Huntoon St. on reports of a suspicious vehicle around 6:09 p.m. Sunday.
Within minutes of arrival on scene, the officers reported that shots were fired.
Two of three responding officers were shot, and at that point suffering life-threatening gunshot wounds. Both were taken to a Topeka hospital where they died.
Following the shooting, officers from multiple law enforcement agencies responded. The parking lot of the Dillons store was roped off as a crime scene.
The search for the shooting suspect:
Authorities surrounded a home in the 400 block of Buchanan in Topeka Sunday during the 8 p.m. hour, where the suspect's vehicle was found. It was searched and the suspect was not located.
Authorities told 13 News the scene was cleared by 9:30 p.m. and police were moving to another location at 12th and Topeka Boulevard.
Police were surrounding an area near 12th and Topeka Boulevard in the 9 p.m. hour Sunday.
13's Justin Surrency reported a SWAT Team huddled in the parking lot of Capitol Federal Savings, preparing to enter a nearby apartment complex, located at 1255 S. Topeka Boulevard.
A person who reported himself as a neighbor of the shooting suspect told 13 News that Tiscareno attempted to rob him at gunpoint 6 months ago. That information was not confirmed by police Sunday night.
The SWAT team swept the apartment building, as a spotlight lit it from the outside. After hours on scene, police cleared the apartment building just after 1 a.m. Monday.
Efforts to locate the suspect continued into the early hours Monday morning, as law enforcement checked a home near 3rd and Western Ave. The location is close to the home officers responded to at 400 and Buchanan earlier in the night.
13 News crews said officers with guns drawn knocked on the door of a home on Western for several minutes with no response in the 2 a.m. hour.
A time later, 13 News crews reported hearing glass break toward the back of the home. Officers then reportedly brought four people out of the home before re-entering the property.
Crews remained at the scene around 3:25 a.m. Monday waiting for updates from police.
Shooting suspect David Tiscareno remained at-large.
Because Topeka Police Officers were involved in the shooting Sunday night, the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office has taken over the investigation.
More information:
A witness told 13 News the shooting happened just outside the entrance of Dillons. The witness said he heard three gun clips emptied- then heard another series of shots.
A neighbor told Ann Bush, of the Topeka Capital-Journal, that he heard several shots. The neighbor said he looked out the window and saw an officer shot on the ground. The same neighbor told Bush he saw another officer standing near with hands on his head.
Bush was posting updates from the scene to her Twitter account Sunday night.
Topeka Councilman Chad Manspeaker took to Twitter following the shooting Sunday.
"Appears there has been a shooting at Dillons in our neighborhood," Manspeaker said on Twitter around 6:35 p.m. "Sheriffs, TPD, Troopers and Topeka Fire all on the scene at Dillons. Customers locked in the store. Parking lot a crime scene."
About an hour later he said," I am speechless. That Dillon's is a safe place. My heart hurts for our emergency responders."
A few dozen people set-up a candlelight vigil at Topeka's Law Enforcement Center at 320 S. Kansas Ave. late Sunday night.
Stay with WIBW and wibw.com for details on this developing story.
No comments:
Post a Comment