Update: No arrests in fatal Wichita shooting. ‘We will be relentless,’ police chief says
Wichita police continued to search Friday evening for a suspect in a deadly shooting and car crash in southeast Wichita.
An unidentified man driving a red SUV was shot and killed near San Pablo and Lincoln around 2:18 p.m. on Friday.
The SWAT team began sweeping an area housing complex where a suspect “may have fled,” Lt. Aaron Moses said.
By 6:30 p.m., no arrests had been made and it was not clear whether a suspect was actually in the housing complex.
“It’s a slow, methodical search,” Moses said. “At this point, the information we have is that someone involved in this case could have potentially gone into that apartment. We’re not going to rush in there. We’re going to use time on our side.”
Police Chief Joseph Sullivan said at a 6:30 p.m. news conference that he’s confident the department will make arrest.
“We’re not going to tolerate this,” Sullivan said. “We have zero tolerance for gun violence. We will be relentless. Detectives will work through the night, if necessary, until we know the shooter’s in custody.”
Around 2:25 p.m., a call went over emergency communications saying someone had been shot in the head at Lincoln and San Pablo.
A witness, who asked to be identified only as Gerald, said he was driving in the area when he heard a pop. Then he saw a red SUV jump a curb, hit a bush, a house and then a car.
The man who lives in the house that was hit by the car said he was in the kitchen when the SUV crashed into his bedroom with a “bang like an earthquake.”
A 63-year-old woman who asked not be to be identified said her car was hit while she was inside watching TV.
“The whole house shake like this,” she said, moving her hands back and forth. “Scared me for real.”
Sullivan said cooperation from witnesses and community members will be the key to solving the case and lowering violent crime rates in Wichita.
“It begins with police and communities working together, but it’s a combination of many things,” he said. “It’s the criminal justice system. We have to make sure that when we make an arrest, that they’re given high bail, bail bondsmen are not allowed to free them on a small percentage of bail. Those types of things work against what we’re all trying to do out here.
“We have to make sure that after people receive a fair trial that they’re given a sentence that is commensurate with the crime that they committed.”
Sullivan said catching violent criminals is the top priority of the department.
“All of our resources that we can muster in this department are fully engaged and will be working through the night until we have the individual or individuals that committed this unspeakable act in jail.”
