Wichita police are investigating the shooting death of 14-year-old Claude Hodges. The incident occurred inside an apartment on the 8400 block of W. Central, east of Tyler Road; investigators believe he was shot and killed by his 43-year-old mother.
Early Sunday evening, police received a call from the father of the victim expressing concerns about his son's well-being, requesting a welfare check at the address after the teenager had not arrived at a designated exchange point. Multiple attempts to contact the teen were unsuccessful.
Arriving at the apartment where the victim was staying, patrol officers tried to establish contact by knocking and calling multiple times, receiving no response. Officers saw what appeared to be an exit-hole in the apartment's exterior wall, and discovered an expended bullet on the ground outside the entry door. Concerned about the potential for someone inside to be injured, officers immediately entered the apartment. Inside, they found the 43-year-old suspect holding a handgun; officers quickly withdrew from the apartment and notified negotiators.
Police negotiators spent several hours negotiating with and attempting to negotiate with the suspect, trying to convince her to disarm herself of the handgun and surrender peacefully. Despite the prolonged negotiation attempts, the suspect continued to refuse to put the handgun down, leading SWAT officers to fire two shots that struck her. She was then transported hospitalized in critical condition by Sedgwick County EMS.
Upon re-entering the apartment, officers discovered the teenage victim in a bedroom, deceased, with an apparent gunshot wound to his upper body.
Both Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan and Sheriff Jeff Easter have formally requested the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to take charge of the investigation into the officer-involved shooting.