The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is investigating a fatal officer-involved shooting on Highway 160 in Harper County.
A Harper County Sheriff's deputy responded to the area after a 911 caller reported a vehicle was stopped in the roadway on HWY 160. The deputy found a tan 2006 Toyota Prius in the middle of the highway. As the deputy approached the car he saw a woman holding a knife in one hand and scissors in the other. An officer from the Attica Police Department arrived on scene. The deputy and the officer backed away from the vehicle and called for backup.
They gave several commands for the woman, later identified as 54-year-old Cheryl Gaines, of Oklahoma City, to drop her weapons and exit the vehicle. She exited the vehicle but did not drop the weapons and then charged and lunged toward the deputy and officer. The officer tripped and fell and Gaines caught up to him still armed. The Harper County sheriff’s deputy fired three shots toward Gaines. EMS pronounced Gaines dead at the scene at around 7:15am. No law enforcement officers were injured during the incident. The KBI will conduct an independent investigation into this shooting.
