photo by: Kim Callahan

A vehicle sits in the middle of the street with the driver's door open just east of 22nd and Louisiana Streets on Monday, July 2, 2018. A shooting was reported in the area that evening, and 22nd Street was closed and roped off with police tape.

Two people were shot Monday evening in southern Lawrence and were taken to regional hospitals with life-threatening injuries, according to police, who said the suspect in the case and a Lawrence police officer were also injured.

According to Sgt. Amy Rhoads, police were dispatched at 9:33 p.m. to the 700 block of West 25th Street regarding a shooting. There, an officer located two victims with what appeared to be gunshot wounds.

After the shootings, Rhoads said, the male suspect left the area in a green SUV. Near 21st and Louisiana streets, an officer in the area attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle, but the SUV driver drove into the officer’s patrol car, injuring the officer. The officer discharged a firearm, and the suspect fled on foot. The suspect was apprehended in the 2200 block of Ohio Street, Rhoads said.

A Journal-World reporter observed a green SUV in the middle of 22nd Street just east of Louisiana Street Monday night. The driver’s door was ajar, and the entire block was cordoned off with crime-scene tape.

When asked whether the officer had shot the suspect, Rhoads said shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday that she did not have that information, although she later described the incident as an “officer-involved shooting.” She said the suspect was taken to an area hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries. She provided no other details about his identity other than to say he is male.

The officer was also taken to a hospital but was later released. Rhoads said the officer, who was not identified, would be on paid administrative leave pending the KBI’s investigation into “the officer-involved shooting.” In a police department news release just before 2 a.m. the incident was described only as an “officer discharging their firearm investigation.”

The Lawrence Police Department will handle the investigation of the shootings on West 25th Street, she said.

Portions of Louisiana and Ohio streets north of 23rd Street were closed Monday night as police investigated the scene. Rhoads said the streets would likely remain closed Tuesday as well.

Police had no other details to release early Tuesday morning. A condition update on the two shooting victims, who were not identified, was not available shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday.

Police in their news release early Tuesday cautioned that details in the case were preliminary “and may be subject to change as the investigation progresses.”

Police are asking that anyone with information about the shootings on West 25th Street contact the police department at 785-832-7509. Anyone with information related to the officer discharging a firearm should call the KBI at 785-296-8283.

700 W 25th St, Lawrence, KS 66046