photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

A Lawrence Police Department patrol vehicle is pictured June 28, 2022.

Story updated at 5:42 p.m. Friday:

Four people were arrested early Friday morning on suspicion of aggravated robbery — and one of them on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder — in an incident that injured an off-duty Lawrence police officer.

The spokesperson for the Lawrence Police Department, Laura McCabe, told the Journal-World that police were called to Bob Billings Parkway and George Williams Way just before 2 a.m. regarding a disturbance with weapons. “We quickly learned the potential victim was an off-duty officer, who was able to provide a clear description of the car involved,” McCabe said. “Officers eventually stopped the car at Bob White Drive and Lake Alvamar Drive, where we took four adults and a juvenile into custody.” 

In another email late Friday afternoon, McCabe said the officer, who was unarmed, was walking on the sidewalk and saw a car pass by with several people inside. She said that moments later, the officer saw a man emerge from the tree line; he walked past the man, but then turned around to see the man swinging a crowbar at him. The officer was able to avoid getting hit and knocked the object out of the man’s hands, McCabe said.

McCabe said a struggle ensued and another man joined in, and one of the men was able to grab the crowbar and hit the officer in the head. She said the men then fled in the same car that the officer said he saw before the attack. The officer reported hearing gunshots as the suspects fled, McCabe said.

After the suspects left the scene of the original incident, McCabe said, they threw potential evidence from the car, which was recovered. The crime scene was “fairly extensive,” McCabe said.

The officer required treatment at the hospital for his injuries but “will be OK,” McCabe said.  

The adults who were arrested are Xaviar Dean Anderson, 19, of Pomona; Zachary Taylor Maddux, 18, of Lawrence; Addison Jon Leo Giullian, 18, of Lawrence; and Jackson Eugene Brouhard, 19, of Lawrence.

The booking log shows that Maddux was arrested on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder.