WPD says downtown shooting may be tied to meth use

WPD says downtown shooting may be tied to meth use

WPD says downtown shooting may be tied to meth use

A 45-year-old man was booked for two counts of attempted murder after two people were shot Sunday morning.

Someone riding a bike at Broadway and Lewis found a man and woman laying on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds around 8 a.m. This person arrived just after the shooting and first responders were on scene quickly. A man with multiple gunshots to his legs is expected to be OK. He was treated for his injuries and is no longer hospitalized. A woman was shot once in the back and remains in critical condition as of Monday morning.

Shortly after the shooting, police got a call from the suspect saying he was involved in the shooting and that a cartel was after him. This person was arrested south of the shooting scene on Market and a handgun was found tossed in a yard.

Police say they have found no evidence of a cartel and believe this suspect was having mental health issues that may have been tied to meth use. This man has a prior felony conviction and was not allowed to have a gun. Investigators say the recovered gun had not been reported stolen and they’re working to find where it came from.

Wichita officers had been looking for this suspect Saturday night after getting a call from the man’s juvenile daughter living in Florida. She said she was worried about her dad because he’d told her a cartel was after him and she could not get a hold of him again. Prison records show the suspect had been living in Florida on probation as of April 2016. His sentence fully expired in 2017 and his location was unknown at the time. This stemmed from an aggravated robbery case in Sedgwick County from 2010.

It is believed the suspect and both victims in this case were all homeless people living in the area. Investigators do not think the group had any previous interactions with each other before the shooting.

An investigation into this shooting is ongoing.

Recommended Posts

Loading...