Tuesday's homicide happened after fight between man, suspect's ex-girlfriend, police say

Wichita police arrested a 30-year-old man on suspicion of second-degree murder after a shooting in the 2600 block of East 21st — near Grove — Tuesday night, Lt. Todd Ojile said.

Leon Anthony Dukes Jr. was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail at 2:16 a.m., according to a report.

The shooting happened after 7 p.m.

Lafian Berryman, 30, was pronounced dead at an area hospital about 30 minutes later, Ojile said on Wednesday. Police did not identify the suspect, citing that charges have not yet officially been filed.

Ojile said the suspected shooter and a woman were sitting in a truck in the parking lot of Kay Plaza when Berryman and another woman showed up in a car.

There was "possibly a physical altercation" in the car between Berryman and the woman. Berryman and the woman then exited the car and he began yelling at the suspected shooter, Dukes said.

"During this verbal argument, the suspect will pull a gun," Ojile said. "Berryman will start to back away from the truck, toward his car."

The suspect then fired one shot and left. Berryman was found by police inside his car, Ojile said.

Shortly after, the suspect called 911, went back to the parking lot and told officers he was involved in the shooting, Ojile said.

The suspect and Berryman didn't know each other Ojile said. However, the woman in Berryman's car was the suspect's ex-girlfriend, he added.

Ojile said the shooting was preceded by an incident that happened days earlier, but he did not elaborate.

"There have been some conversations between the two, we're still working on tracking those down," he said.

This is the year's 23rd homicide. Ojile said he thinks arrests haven't been made in four of those cases.

This story was originally published June 19, 2018 at 9:17 PM with the headline "Tuesday's homicide happened after fight between man, suspect's ex-girlfriend, police say."