Feb 22, 2020

Armed incident ends peacefully Friday afternoon in Hutchinson

Posted Feb 22, 2020 11:47 AM

By NICK GOSNELL

Hutch Post

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson police were able to resolve an incident with an armed subject near 2nd and Taylor shortly before 5 p.m. Friday. It started around 1:30 p.m.

"We originally got a call of a suicidal subject, then as officers were responding to the call, we had a second report of shots fired inside the home," Hutchinson Police Chief Jeff Hooper said. "When the original officers came on scene, they made entry. The subject had retreated into a bedroom. As officers were attempting to work their way into that part of the house, they heard a second gunshot and so they backed out of the house and secured the area and called in our Emergency Response Team."

Approximately a four-block radius was blocked off during the incident.

"We were really lucky, obviously we resolved it with a peaceful resolution," Hooper said. "Our hostage negotiators got on scene. We had contact with the subject off and on. We were able to also work with his family members to kind of get him to calm down. He walked out of the house peacefully and gave up."

Hooper said police are familiar with the man, but offered no other specifics on his identity.

"We don't know for sure if he shot directly at our officers or he fired into the ceiling," Hooper said. "Our officers retreated. We'll ascertain the situation. First and foremost, we're concerned for his safety and his wellbeing. They'll check his mental state out and then we'll determine if we have any criminal charges."

A search warrant was executed Friday on the residence to determine exactly what happened.