Suspect shot gun at deputies during I-35 police chase, ends in Gardner
GARDNER, Kan. — Both the northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 35 are back open Tuesday in southern Johnson County following a chase with at least one armed suspect.
According to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, deputies attempted to stop someone for speeding on I-35, near Utah Road. While talking with the people inside the vehicle, deputies became suspicious of drug possession and/or use.
The driver of the vehicle was removed from the vehicle for questioning. When deputies returned to the vehicle to question the passenger, he locked the doors and moved to the driver’s seat and drove away. The driver was detained at the scene.
Deputies began chasing the suspect vehicle north on I-35. During the chase, the suspect fired a handgun at deputies on at least two occasions, according to the sheriff’s office.
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The suspect driver then lost control of the vehicle and crashed on I-35 near Moonlight Road in Gardner. The suspect then ran into a wooded area.
As the manhunt intensified over the afternoon, I-35 in Gardner was shut down south and north bound. Bringing traffic to a halt.
Multiple schools in the area were put on lockdown during the search.
“It was a pretty scary moment getting a message that daycare was locked down, that school was on lockdown, that this was all going on so close,” Amanda Hallgrimson, a parent in Gardner said.
Law enforcement personnel from the Kansas Highway Patrol, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Gardner Police Department, Leawood Police Department and more rushing to neighborhood, establishing a perimeter on all four sides.
Around 5:40 p.m., the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect was taken into custody and that there is no threat to the public.
What we know right now is during the course of a police chase at least one suspect fired from a car at a deputy, it is unclear if another suspect did as well, that’s when one was taken into custody and the other ran.
If nothing else, Kourtney Graham, who runs a daycare that had to be lockdown, is glad this ended the way that it did, and will use this as a learning lesson.
“It’s just something I have in my pocket for next time like I know exactly what to do and I’m ready for whatever I need to do to keep these kids safe,” Graham said.
Both suspects are not being named until formal charges have been filed. They are currently being held in the Franklin County Jail. Police also found drugs and a firearm in the vehicle.
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No injuries have been reported at this time.
