Four Wichita police officers hurt after burglary suspect barricaded himself in garage
Four Wichita police officers and a 42-year-old man who barricaded himself into a detached garage that later caught fire were hospitalized on Sunday, authorities said in a news release Monday.
The officers suffered minor injuries from smoke inhalation that they were treated for Sunday. They all were released afterward.
The man who shut himself in the garage had critical injuries that he remained hospitalized for on Monday morning, police said.
The officers were hurt after responding to a 911 call about a burglary happening inside of the detached garage at a home on North Crestview Lake, according to the news release. When police arrived at the address around 9:40 p.m., they found the garage entry door barricaded from the inside. Authorities “were able to push their way into the garage,” the release said.
Once inside, officers heard the man and discovered he had locked himself into a smaller room, the release said.
“Officers attempted to remove him from the room, and they discovered a fire had been set,” police said. Officers put out the flames using fire extinguishers and called Wichita firefighters for help removing the man from the room.
He was taken to a Wichita hospital in critical condition, police said. His name was not released Monday.
The investigation into what else transpired is ongoing, police said.
This story was originally published June 7, 2021 at 11:08 AM.
