An unidentified man in his 60s was taken to a hospital after a confrontation with Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputies and Wichita police officers.
Sheriff Jeff Easter said there was a report around 3 p.m. Tuesday of a man in an open field area near the Department for Children and Families building in the 2600 block of South Oliver, and the man was firing shots. Two deputies saw a man south of the building firing shots in different directions. Easter said one deputy had a rifle and fired a shot when he saw the man raise his gun toward Wichita officers in the area. The man was taken to a hospital in serious condition with a gunshot wound to the chest.
Easter said the man appeared to be homeless, and he may have been intoxicated. It’s not known if he was targeting anyone or anything.
In a separate, unrelated incident, Wichita police officers have taken a man into custody after a chase on the city’s east side. This happened around 3 p.m. near Kellogg and Webb Road. Officer Charley Davidson said a motorcycle officer on patrol saw a vehicle going west in the eastbound lanes of Kellogg. The car went south into a parking lot and then went behind the buildings. The officer saw the vehicle going west and ended up on Orme, then turned around and tried to hit the officer. Davidson said the officer fired two shots toward the vehicle, then it went south and the driver jumped out and ran on foot. Police officers, SWAT team members and Kansas Highway Patrol troopers searched the area and the man was taken into custody with the help of a canine unit in a field shortly before 6 p.m.
