Wichita police give number of times robbery suspect was shot

A Wichita police sergeant shot robbery suspect Andrew Villa seven times, a department spokeswoman said Monday.

Villa will be booked into jail on “numerous felony charges” when he is released from a hospital, Wichita police Sgt. Nikki Woodrow said.

The department is providing the information about how many times Villa was shot because someone outside the Police Department was saying that he was shot 14 times, which is incorrect, Woodrow said.

She said she can’t comment on where he was shot.

“It is important to our chief to be transparent as we possibly can,” Woodrow said.

Monday was the first time that police had confirmed Villa’s name. The shooting occurred the evening of Sept. 18.

In a briefing a week ago, Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said the police sergeant fired multiple shots after the suspect reportedly robbed a convenience store at 53rd and Meridian, that the suspect was said to be armed and was repeatedly grabbing at his pants and that the sergeant feared for the occupants of a car that the suspect had jumped into at 29th and Arkansas.

This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 11:22 AM with the headline "Wichita police give number of times robbery suspect was shot."