KANSAS CITY (AP) — Authorities say a Kansas City police officer has shot and wounded a man whom the officer believed was armed.
Police spokesman Sgt. Jacob Becchina in an email that the shooting happened late Thursday after an officer attempted to stop a driver for a traffic violation. The driver didn't immediately pull over, and when he did come to a stop in an alley, he ran from the vehicle with the officer in pursuit.
Becchina said that the man turned toward the officer during the pursuit and raised his arms “as though he had a weapon." The officer then told the man to get on the ground. Becchina said the officer fired when the man didn't follow the commands.
The man was rushed to a hospital with injuries that police described as life-threatening.
Police said the wounded man is black. Police didn't immediately release his name or the race of the officer who fired.