KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - A sheriff's deputy was killed and another was critically wounded Friday when an inmate being transported to a court hearing in Kansas somehow got ahold of a weapon and shot them, authorities said.
The suspect was also injured during the confrontation in a gated area behind a court services building across the street from the Wyandotte County Courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas. The wounded officer and the suspect were undergoing surgeries Friday afternoon.
The inmate was being transported across the street from the jail to the services building for a court hearing, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Maj. Kelli Bailiff. The inmate was taken in a van to a gated area behind the building, and when the inmate got out of van, he somehow overtook and shot the deputies, possibly with their own guns, Bailiff said.
Authorities haven't released the deputies' names or length of service with the department. They also said it was too early in the investigation to give specific details of how the shootings could have happened. Video from the scene shows the courthouse surrounded by yellow police tape, several police vehicles parked in the street and numerous uniformed law enforcement officers walking the grounds.
Bailiff said investigators do not believe the public is in any danger.
The investigation is being handled by the Kansas City Police Department. Police spokesman Zac Blair said authorities will be reviewing surveillance video.