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Soldier saved ‘countless lives’ by ramming active shooter with car, police say

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — A man shooting at people with multiple weapons was neutralized after a soldier jumped into action and hit the shooter with his car, police said Wednesday.

Officers initially believed they were responding to a road rage incident on the Centennial Bridge, which connects Kansas and Missouri. Instead, they discovered that a man had been using multiple weapons to fire randomly at vehicles. The suspect was trapped under a car, Leavenworth Police Chief Patrick Kitchens said.

HERO: A soldier at Fort Leavenworth stopped an active shooter randomly firing at passing cars with a handgun and...

Posted by KOCO 5 News on Wednesday, May 27, 2020

“There was an active-duty soldier assigned to Fort Leavenworth waiting in traffic behind the event who saw the event unfold and determined it was an active shooter. The soldier intervened by striking the shooter with his vehicle, causing him to be critically injured, ending the encounter with the active shooter and likely saving countless lives,” Kitchens told KOCO-TV.

One person was injured by the shooter, according to Kitchens. That person, also a soldier, was a random victim.

Both the shooting victim and the suspect were in serious but stable condition in a Kansas City hospital, police said.

Kitchens said no motive for the shooting had been determined.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.