Kansas City police officer shot, killed

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- An officer with the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department died Tuesday after being shot while investigating a report of gunfire, reports CBS affiliate KCTV.

Police say three or four people were inside a vehicle when police approached the scene where gunfire had been reported, at about 1:33 p.m. An officer took a suspect into custody minutes later, but other suspects fled, according to police.

Capt. Robert Melton, 46, was searching for one of the suspects when he drove up to someone who matched that person's description just before 2 p.m., police spokesman Tom Tomasic said. Before Melton could get out of his vehicle, the suspect opened fire and hit the officer multiple times, Tomasic said. The alleged shooter was caught five minutes later about a block away, he said. M

Melton died about an hour later from his injuries.

A police spokeswoman said the suspect was being questioned Tuesday evening along with two other people suspected in the initial drive-by shooting. Police weren't releasing the suspects' names because charges hadn't been filed.

Melton was promoted to captain in May 2015. He had been with the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department since 1999. Prior to that, he served with the Wyandotte County Sheriff's Office for nine years. Melton was also a member of the Kansas National Guard from 2007 to 2012.

"There's a lot of pain and brokenness in our community and our nation right now, and we just want to ask everyone to be prayerful and thoughtful right now," Mayor Mark Holland of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County said.

It's the second time a Kansas City, Kansas, police officer has been shot and killed this year; in early May, a detective was fatally shot near the Kansas Speedway.