Topeka Shooting: Two Kansas Police Officers Fatally Shot Outside Grocery Store


A Topeka shooting has left two Kansas police officers dead they responded to a call of a suspicious vehicle outside a market and got into a shootout with a suspect.

The Topeka police officers were both shot in the head by a gunman who opened fire within minutes of their arrival to investigate the vehicle, The Associated Press reported. The officers, Cpl. David Gogian and Officer Jeff Atherly, later died at a hospital.

Gogan, a 50-year-old, had been with the department for eight years. The 29-year-old Atherly joined the Topeka Police Department in 2011.

Police believe a 22-year-old man is responsible for shooting the two Topeka, Kansas, police officers. On Sunday night he remained at large. Police were able to find the suspicious vehicle from the scene outside a house about 10 blocks from the original grocery story, but a search of the home failed to turn up the shooting suspect.

CBS affiliate WIBW-TV has reported that the name of the suspect sought in the Topeka shooting is David Edward Tiscareno, a Topeka resident.

A witness to the Topeka shooting said the incident happened outside the entrance of Dillons. The witness said he heard three gun clips emptied, followed by another series of shots.

City Councilman Chad Manspeaker posted an update on Twitter following the Topeka shooting.

“Appears there has been a shooting at Dillons in our neighborhood,” Manspeaker wrote on Twitter around 6:35 p.m. “Sheriffs, TPD, Troopers and Topeka Fire all on the scene at Dillons. Customers locked in the store. Parking lot a crime scene.”

As news of the Topeka shooting spread, a small crowd gathered outside the police headquarters for a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the Kansas police officers killed.

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