Overland Park Police say one person is in custody after allegedly firing a rifle at an officer early Tuesday morning.
In a news release, Officer John Lacy, a spokesperson for Overland Park Police, said officers responded to the area of College Boulevard and Oakmont Street after a caller reported an aggravated assault at about 5:15 a.m.
“A caller reported this to dispatch but did not want to file a report,” Lacy said. “Officers responded to the area but were unable to locate the suspect on foot.”
Lacy said the suspect was spotted by a traffic camera at 5:33 a.m., sitting on a vehicle in the parking lot of a business.
“The owner of the vehicle exited the business and confronted the suspect,” Lacy said. “The suspect pointed his firearm toward the owner but did not fire his weapon.”
Lacy says the vehicle’s owner returned to the business and called police.
Officers arrived to see the suspect attempting to rob someone in the parking lot.
“The suspect had a high-powered rifle, later found to be illegally modified,” Lacy said. “Officers on scene took cover and gave several commands to the suspect to drop the weapon.”
According to Lacy, that’s when the suspect aimed the rifle at one of the officers and fired several times.
“At this time, it is unknown if the suspect’s firearm went empty or jammed,” Lacy said. “The suspect then dropped the firearm, and officers took the suspect into custody.”
No injuries were reported, and Lacy said no officers fired their weapons.
As of around noon on Tuesday, the suspect had not been booked into jail, and no identifying information had been released.
Police are asking anyone with information about this morning’s incident to contact them at 913-895-6300 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
