A USD 259 Wichita school employee’s swift action prevented a man with a gun from entering a school building on Monday. The man had shot a woman and was pursuing her when the employee closed the school door.
The incident unfolded around 9 AM when authorities received reports of a shooting outside Cessna Elementary School. A Sedgwick County deputy responded to the scene and confronted the armed man, who made threats and pointed the gun at the deputy.
The suspect then laid on top of a woman, and the deputy fired warning shots to force him to release her. After a physical struggle, the suspect was disarmed by the deputy and two Wichita police officers.
Investigations revealed that the man and woman were domestic partners with children. The shooting occurred during an argument in their vehicle, prompting the woman to flee towards the school. The school employee’s intervention prevented the suspect from entering the building.
Both the suspect and the woman were transported to a hospital with expected survival. The suspect faces charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer. The investigation is ongoing, and the case will be presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office for formal charging consideration.
The Advanced Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) is leading the investigation into this incident.
