A Kansas City, Kansas, police captain has died following a shooting early Tuesday afternoon, according to multiple sources.
Advertisement
Robert Melton, 46, was one of the responding officers to a call Tuesday afternoon about a drive-by shooting. Police said three people in all were taken into custody, but one of them was released after it was determined they were not involved, KSHB reported. The suspected shooter is in custody.
“Not again. Prayers started”, a tweet from KCKPD read, according to RT.
Tomasic says Melton did not respond to the scene of an earlier report of shots fired, but was looking for suspects in an area about 20 blocks away when he pulled up to a person who matched a suspect’s description.
Kansas Governor, Sam Brownback, sent prayers for Melton’s family and condolences to Kansas City police department likewise.
Another police officer has been killed in the line of duty, and it hit close to home for Phoenix Suns coach Earl Watson. Several officers took cover behind cars.
Police officers shot and killed two black men on July 5 and July 6 in Baton Rouge, and St. Paul, Minnesota, respectively. Reports from local media indicate that police, at one point, were searching for a fourth suspect, but that they later stopped the efforts. The suspect vehicle took off as police arrived, but it crashed into a fence and the occupants bailed out at 1:36 p.m., Tomasic, the police spokesman, said.
Robert David Melton was on an armed disturbance call at the time of the incident, Police Chief Terry Zeigler told CBS affiliate KCTV-TV, Kansas City.
Sunday, three officers in Baton Rouge were fatally shot by a gunman, while three others were injured. Authorities did not provide more details about the shooting or the possible motive.
He served in the Kansas Army National Guard and was deployed with a tank squadron to Afghanistan from Sept 2010 to March 2012. We’re standing with, and praying for, our brothers and sisters with the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department.
Advertisement
He had been a patrol officer in the city from 1999 to 2006 after a nine-year career as a police lieutenant for the Wyandotte County sheriff’s department.
