Junction City officer shoots, kills man, 23

Police shot and killed a 23-year-old Fort Riley man outside of a Junction City Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market on Tuesday morning.

The man had two handguns on a sidewalk north of the store’s parking lot, 1723 McFarland Road, and ignored orders from police to drop the weapons, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation said in a news release. The confrontation escalated and four officers from the Junction City Police Department and the Geary County Sheriff’s Office fired at him, the release said.

The man died at the scene. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is withholding his name until his family is notified of his death.

It was immediately unclear why the man was armed near the Wal-Mart and why he didn’t comply with police commands.

The KBI said Junction City police were called to a home on the town’s west side for a welfare check at around 12:45 a.m. – before the fatal shooting – and soon after a report came in of an armed disturbance at a Wal-Mart a few blocks away. There, the officers found the 23-year-old man.

No law enforcement officers were hurt in the exchange, the KBI said. Junction City police after the shooting contacted the KBI, which sent agents and a Crime Scene Response Team to investigate.

“The KBI will complete a thorough and independent investigation into this matter. Once completed, the findings will be turned over to the Geary County Attorney for review,” the agency said in the news release. Further details were not released.

This story was originally published August 8, 2017 at 9:40 AM with the headline "Junction City officer shoots, kills man, 23."