Suspect in Wichita homicide shot man, teen then ‘turned gun on himself,’ police say
A Wichita man facing charges in the city’s latest homicide shot a 20-year-old and a teenager before turning the gun on himself, a police official said.
Capt. Jason Stephens said 26-year-old Deadrian Johnson “had been using drugs” when he opened fire on the pair on Saturday night, fatally injuring Christopher Terrell of Wichita and seriously wounding the 16-year-old boy.
After shooting Terrell and the teen, Johnson “turned the gun on himself and shot himself one time,” Stephens said during a Monday news briefing.
All three were taken to a Wichita hospital, where Terrell died shortly afterward, a Wichita police news release said.
Johnson remained in the hospital on Monday but is under arrest and his health is being monitored, Stephens said. He will be booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder, if he recovers, Stephens said.
Asked whether Johnson’s injuries are life threatening, Stephens said: “Right now, it’s day to day.”
“They could potentially be life threatening,” he said. “So only time will tell.”
Police say the shooting, reported around 11:15 p.m. Saturday in the 1000 block of North Volutsia, came during an unspecified “disturbance” that occurred between the three.
Wichita police spokesman Officer Paul Cruz described the three as acquaintances but didn’t say exactly why they were gathered at the address, near Ninth and Hillside.
Police plan to present their investigation to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, which will decide what criminal charges might be filed in the case, the news release says.
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 4:12 PM.
