A Kansas City, Missouri police officer is in critical condition after being shot in the head Thursday when responding to a call that a man was giving up a gun in a neighborhood on the east side of town.
The suspect reportedly ran after officers arrived on the scene. The suspect began shooting at officers, who responded to the fire. A male police officer was hit in the head and the suspect is reportedly dead.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said it believed only one suspect was involved, but officials are still investigating whether or not others were involved in the incident, according to local newspaper Fox 4.
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“We talk about violence in this city and we can see where it’s going,” said Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) chief Rick Smith. “Since we had to go and take a mother to the hospital today, his first words were ‘I am angry at all this violence in this city.’ I hope, I beg everyone to hear those words and work 10 times harder than today on violence in this city. “
The police officer has reportedly been with the KCPD for approximately two and a half years.
Kansas City is on track to experience its deadliest year on record, with nearly 100 homicides this year alone.
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This time last year there were 67 reported homicides, and this year it is beating 2017, which is currently the deadliest year on record with 155 homicides, according to a report by The Kansas City Star.
Smith told reporters that this was not a time for politics, but a time to focus on the severity of the criminal situation in Kansas City.
This was the second shooting against a police officer on Thursday. The first police officer was released from the hospital after suffering non-life threatening injuries.
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According to reports by The Kansas City Star, more than 80 murders this year have been completed with a firearm.
Non-fatal shooting has also increased with 315 survivors of shooting attacks in the first six months of this year. Twenty percent of this year’s shots were fired in May, with 82 people being shot, a reported increase of 75 percent from last year.
