Police identify boy alleged to have been shot, killed by mother in west Wichita apartment

Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old boy allegedly by his mother Sunday at a west Wichita apartment complex, Wichita Police Department spokesperson Andrew Ford said in a news release.

The boy’s body was found in a bedroom after police shot and critically injured his mother to end a standoff. He was identified as Claude Hodges of Wichita.

Shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday, Claude’s father called police to check on his son after he did not arrive at a “designated exchange point” and did not answer calls, the release said.

Officers arrived at the Aspen Park apartments in the 8400 block of W. Central Avenue, near the intersection of Central and Tyler.

Police knocked on the door but no one responded and multiple calls went unanswered, Ford said.

“Officers observed what appeared to be an exit hole in the apartment’s exterior wall and discovered an expended bullet outside the entry door on the ground,” Ford added. “Concerned about the potential for someone inside to be injured, officers immediately entered the apartment.”

Once inside, officers met the 43-year-old mother, who was holding a handgun. They also saw a shotgun nearby. The officers retreated from the apartment, the release said.

Police negotiators and the SWAT team were called in and attempted to get the woman to surrender peacefully.

“Despite the prolonged negotiation attempts, the suspect continued to refuse to put the handgun down, leading SWAT officers to fire two shots that struck her,” Ford said.

She was taken to a hospital in critical condition by EMS.

Officers found Claude dead in a bedroom from a gunshot wound to his upper body, the release said.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is handling the officer-involved shooting.