Three police officers were wounded in the line of duty after being shot while executing a search warrant at a residence, according to authorities.
The incident prompted a standoff which started in the early hours of Mar. 1, and persisted for over 18 hours at a residence in the 2300 block of Blue Ridge Boulevard, according to the local police Chief.
Officers from Kansas City Police Department’s tactical response team had begun to breach a door around 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 28. The officers reportedly identified themselves as police prior to entering the property.
A gun battle ensued after the officers were fired upon. The injured officers were taken to the hospital. The officers are reportedly awake and able to communicate. Their conditions were described as non-life-threatening.
“They are highly trained, good men. And, you know, we’re just so thankful tonight that each one of them, I was able to to physically talk to them,” the local police Chief said of the wounded officers.
Adjacent streets were blocked off by police vehicles and road flares. Shortly after, power was cut off to street lights and nearby properties.
Kansas City police Chief Stacey Graves said no immediate arrests were made.
On Mar. 1, a man was arrested during the standoff for charges unrelated to the incident, as reported by KSHB 41 News on Twitter.
One dead male was found inside the residence. He was identified as 19-year Ricardo Apodaca and pronounced dead at the scene.
Standoff Followed
The Independence Police Department took over the law enforcement response at the residence in the late hours of Feb. 28. The following morning, Missouri Highway Patrol took over after providing assistance overnight.
The Highway Patrol reported the standoff was located near Blue Summit, an unincorporated area just east of Interstate 435 and north of 23rd Street.
Missouri State Highway Patrol will be investigating the shooting, based on a mutual agreement with Kansas City Police.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted about the incident, describing it as another example of the perils of police work:
“We’ve been reminded too much lately in Kansas City how dangerous police work can be. I am praying for a full recovery for our three officers injured this evening and that everyone on duty gets home to their families safely.”
According to an article in the Kansas City Daily Star, in recent years, several shootings occurred where officers of the Kansas City Police Department have survived injuries.
In July 2020, two officers were injured on the same day in two unrelated shootings. One of the shootings happened on a city bus, which also wounded the driver, the site reported.
Two years prior a man was killed in a shootout with police. The man was suspected to have launched a fatal attack on a University of Missouri-Kansas City graduate student, injuring three officers.
Anyone with information on this case is urged to call the Crime Stoppers TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477)
