Chase, shootout in Kansas ends with suspect fatally shooting himself, official says

A 28-year-old Nebraska man is dead after apparently shooting himself following a chase and shootout with deputies Monday night in Galena, according to Kansas Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Melissa Underwood.

Around 5:20 p.m., a woman called 911 about a man holding another man at gunpoint at a home in a rural area just north of Galena in southeast Kansas. Underwood didn’t say in the news release what caused the incident.

The suspect then left the home in a Ford F-250 flatbed truck, Underwood said.

Roughly 10 minutes later, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office deputies spotted the truck, but the man refused to stop, Underwood said. A short pursuit ensued.

At a rural intersection about two miles from the home, the man got out of the truck while shooting at deputies, Underwood said, adding that multiple rounds from the man’s handgun hit a patrol vehicle.

Both deputies fired back as the man fled into a tree line, she said.

Officers heard a single gunshot from the treed area a few minutes later, she said. Officers set up a perimeter and called for a drone and aircraft to help in the search.

The man was found dead around 8 p.m., with one apparent gunshot wound. An autopsy is being done.

This story was originally published January 17, 2023 at 2:59 PM.