3 police officers shot serving warrant in Kansas City, sparking long standoff with suspect

Three police officers are recovering after they were shot executing a search warrant at a residence in Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday evening.

Around 9:30 p.m., three members of a tactical team from the Kansas City Police Department, all of whom are male, arrived at a residence in the eastern part of the city. When they arrived, the officers knocked on the door and identified themselves. It seems that no one answered. When the officers then attempted to open the door, they were immediately met with gunfire.

All three officers sustained non-life-threatening injuries and soon afterward transported themselves to an area hospital, where they remain as of early Wednesday afternoon. Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves stated that she had personally spoken to each of the wounded men.

"I just thank God that each one of those officers were able to look me in the eyes tonight and have a conversation, eyes wide open," Graves told reporters outside University Health hospital late Tuesday night.

Before leaving the scene for medical treatment, the three wounded officers did return fire at a suspect inside the house, but whether anyone in the home was injured is unknown. The shooting then prompted a long standoff with those inside the residence, which continued well into Wednesday morning. The current status of that situation is unknown.

During the early morning hours, KCPD handed off the standoff situation to the Independence Police Department, which then brought in at least two individuals from the home for questioning. Whether either of those individuals was the subject of the search warrant or involved in the shooting is unclear. The Missouri State Highway Patrol has been tasked with investigating the shooting itself.

"Police work is dangerous," Graves admitted. "It's a tough job, but we're here to protect. We're here to serve, and we do that selflessly."

On Tuesday night, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted about the dangers of police work and stated that he was praying for the officers' "full recovery."

This shooting comes on the heels of the deaths of two other members of the KCPD family. On February 15, Officer James Muhlbauer, a 20-year veteran of the force, and K9 Officer Champ were killed when someone ran a red light at 85 mph and struck Muhlbauer's patrol vehicle. The suspect, 18-year-old Jerron Lightfoot, also allegedly struck a pedestrian, 52-year-old Jesse Eckes, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Muhlbauer and Champ were given full honors at their funeral services, held on February 22.

Since 1961, 121 KCPD officers, including K9s, have died in the line of duty, all of them male. The overwhelming majority of these deaths were the result of gunfire, either deliberate or inadvertent.

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