In 911 calls, former Ranlo police officer details stabbing
In a 911 call, a former Ranlo police officer who is now charged with murder, told an operator he'd been stabbed multiple times, and that he was trying to protect children.
In the call, which was made Jan. 1 at 2:19 a.m., Kwaku "Riley" Agyapon tells an operator that he has been stabbed, but that he's okay.
"I'm trying to get a kid out of the residence right now. I've been stabbed about four or five times already. I've been stabbed about nine or 10 times already," Agyapon said. "I've been stabbed in my shoulder. I've been stabbed about two or three times in my shoulder. And then I don't know where else, it's just bleeding down, but my right arm is still good to go."
Agyapon, then 34, was at a home on Burlington Avenue where, according to police, he went to fight 33-year-old Juan Nikely Avalo. The two did fight, and Agyapon, who was off duty at the time of the shooting, stands accused of shooting and killing Avalo as Avalo tried to retreat. Agyapon is charged with first-degree murder.
In January, County Attorney Bill Stetzer asked Judge David Phillips to seal the 911 calls in the shooting, but Phillips ordered them released on March 31.
The call made at 2:19 was initially made by Krystal Ortiz, who was romantically involved with Avalo.
Ortiz met Agyapon in November 2022, when Agyapon responded to an alleged domestic dispute at her home, in which Avalo was accused of assaulting Ortiz. Agyapon and Ortiz stayed in touch, and in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, according to search warrant documents, Avalo discovered Agyapon's name and number in Ortiz's phone. Avalo contacted Agyapon, and Agyapon, the documents said, suggested they meet at a QT gas station to fight.
Instead, however, Agyapon went to Avalo's house, and the two fought there.
During the 911 call on Jan. 1, Ortiz initially speaks, but then Agyapon takes over. He doesn't mention shooting anyone, instead repeating several times that he was stabbed.
"He ran behind the residence. He stabbed me. He went back that way. I don't know if he's inside or if he ran to the woodline," Agyapon said of Avalo.
In another call, a scared neighbor describes hearing around five gunshots.
"They're out here fighting and woke me up," the neighbor said. "I told them to get out and go, and they're still fighting. They started shooting, and then that's when I called. There's two men and one woman."
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: In 911 calls, former Ranlo police officer details stabbing
