A shooting outside Towne East Square in east Wichita left at least two people critically injured Saturday afternoon. The incident occurred around 3:30 PM local time in the parking lot near Scheels, according to Sedgwick County dispatch. Both victims sustained critical injuries.
A Scheels representative told Kake.com that the mall is under lockdown, with the shooting taking place outside the store. Wichita police remain at the scene, urging the public to avoid the area. Wichita Police, according to local reports, later confirmed that this is not an active shooter situation and there is no ongoing threat to the community or surrounding area.
“Lots of police response was dispatched to the Town East Mall E Kellogg D for a shooting report. According to reports, an armed person was seen fleeing the mall after an altercation,” a local said on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
This comes days after a federal court filing revealed that a Wichita police detective discovered a gun linked to two recent shootings while using a City Hall restroom, after it reportedly fell out of a toilet paper holder.
Daquinton Shamarr Baker, 23, was charged Tuesday in federal court with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Authorities allege he brought the weapon into City Hall while in police custody.
{{/usCountry}}Daquinton Shamarr Baker, 23, was charged Tuesday in federal court with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Authorities allege he brought the weapon into City Hall while in police custody.
{{/usCountry}}According to the affidavit, Wichita police arrested Baker at his home on April 11 on a Kansas Department of Corrections warrant. He was taken to the sixth floor of City Hall for questioning. Department procedures require that suspects be searched for weapons or contraband before transport, but individuals in police custody do not pass through metal detectors or security wands.
During the interview, Baker asked to use the restroom. Officers escorted him to the men’s accessible stall on the sixth floor, the same stall where the firearm was later found. On April 14, Detective Davidson used the stall and saw a black Taurus G3C 9mm with a mounted light drop from the toilet paper holder onto the floor.
The April 3 incident, reported around 1:25 AM was a drive-by in the 1100 block of North Edwards. Officers recovered multiple shell casings over several blocks but found no property damage. The April 5 shooting took place around 10:46 p.m. at American Legion Post 273, where a victim reported hearing gunfire before being injured and taken to a hospital.