A southeast Wichita homeowner shot an intoxicated man late Tuesday night after the man repeatedly tried to enter a home he mistakenly believed was his own. The man, found with a gunshot wound to his abdomen, was hospitalized in critical condition but is expected to survive.
No arrests have been made and no charges filed. Investigators are examining the circumstances, particularly what occurred after both men moved outside, as prosecutors will ultimately determine whether the shooting was legally justified.
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WICHITA, KS — A southeast Wichita homeowner shot an intoxicated man in his driveway late Tuesday night after the man banged on the door of a house he believed was his own, refused to leave, and tried to get inside, according to the Wichita Police Department.
Officers were called to a home in the 900 block of South Rutan around 11:10 p.m. and found a man in the driveway with a gunshot wound to his abdomen, as reported by KWCH, which detailed what police said about the location, the injury, and the sequence of events. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Police said he is expected to survive.
Police said the man was drunk and pounding on the door, convinced the house was his. The homeowner answered and told him to leave.
That should have been the end of it. Instead, police said, the man insisted the house was his, asked for a phone, and then tried to enter. The homeowner confronted him in the driveway. The homeowner felt threatened by the man’s actions and shot him, police said.
A stranger pushing his way through your doorway is one set of facts. A stranger you have followed out into the open air is another, and investigators will spend their time on exactly what changed between those two moments.
I say that without knowing the answer, because neither the department nor anyone else has released it. What police have described so far is a homeowner who felt threatened by the man’s actions. That is the agency characterizing conduct, not a finding that the shooting was lawful.
The department said a lockout connected to the shooting has since been lifted and that the investigation into what caused it is still ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or to stay anonymous and call Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.
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Neither man has been identified. No arrest has been announced, no charges have been filed against anyone, and prosecutors, not police, will make the final determination on whether the shooting was justified.
There is a version of this night where a confused drunk ends up in the back of a patrol car and everyone goes to bed. Instead a man is in critical condition, a homeowner is waiting on a prosecutor, and investigators are left to reconstruct what happened in the seconds after both men were standing outside.
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