Kansas MP and suspect shot dead during arrest

WICHITA, Kan. – A Kansas Sheriff's representative and a suspect were killed after a fight when the suspect was arrested in a rural area of ​​Wichita, authorities said.

Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter said MP Robert Kunze was shot dead Sunday afternoon after receiving a call about a stolen black truck.

When Kunze arrived at the scene about 32 kilometers west of downtown Wichita, he found the hood open on the black vehicle. Easter says that Kunze tapped the suspect's belt and found a 40-gauge handgun. The gun was placed away from them two, but a fight ensued when Kunze tried to handcuff the suspect, reports the Wichita Eagle.

Easter says that Kunze's service weapon has been unloaded, but the investigators do not know if the suspect's handgun was also fired. Kunze was able to use the emergency button on his portable radio to call for help. Another MP arrived about a minute later and two witnesses hiding nearby said that shots had been fired. The deputy found Kunze and the suspect on the ground. A 40-gauge handgun was found next to the suspect, whose name has not yet been released.

Kunze had been hit once by the top of his chest over his waistcoat, Easter said. The suspect was shot in the chest and waist. Kunze died in a hospital while the suspect was declared dead on the scene.

The shooting is under investigation. Mr. Easter said that the MP's vehicle was equipped with a camera camera but that the images were not yet available.

He added that the suspect had been associated with several crimes in the area on Sunday – stealing a 40 caliber weapon, a silver vehicle and a black truck. He said that there were no other suspects in the death of Kunze, but that there could be more suspects in other cases.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office posted on its Facebook page a badge covered with a blue and black mourning group to remember Kunze. Mr. Easter described the MP's death as "tragedy", saying that Kunze "worked with great pride, loved and encouraged the people who worked with him, but above all he loved his family". Kunze had a wife and a child.

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Information from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, http://www.kansas.com