A Kansas father shot his wife Monday morning during a “domestic dispute” at their children’s elementary school, prompting a campus lockdown.
The man allegedly opened fire and struck his wife in the chest shortly after the couple dropped off their children at Cessna Elementary School in Wichita.
Classes at the school begin at 9 a.m. and police responded to a call at 9:15 a.m. reporting a shooting outside.
Witnesses reported seeing the man pull a gun on his wife and shoot her in the chest near their Lyft ride, which they had ordered to drive their family to the elementary school.
“She then ran towards the school to get help. He chased her, said Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter KAKE News.
“When our deputy arrived, he had the gun pointed at her head.”
Easter said the deputy took cover and waited a few moments until the man stepped far enough away from her for a moment before firing two shots at him.
The man was taken into care and taken to hospital in extremely critical condition. The woman was also in critical condition.
School staff rushed all the children into classrooms as the building was on lockdown. Police notified the community that there was no threat of an active shooter inside the elementary school.
“This is one [domestic violence]-related shooting that happened outside the school. It was no school shooting at all, Easter added Wichita Eagle.
“Unfortunately, these things sometimes show up around neighborhoods where there are schools […] I know it can be scary for parents. But the fact is, the police showed up within two minutes of the shooting coming out, and they never got into the actual school where the kids were in danger.”
All pre-school classes were canceled for the day and parents were given the opportunity to pick up their children.