Two police officers shot in Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Two Kansas City men were charged Sunday with shooting two off-duty police officers who were providing security near Halloween haunted houses, authorities said.

One of the suspects, Joachim B. Jagetz, 22, was shot in the ankle in an exchange of gunfire Saturday night in the city's West Bottoms warehouse district, said Kansas City police Det. Jarrett Lanpher. The area was crowded with patrons who had lined up to enter the Halloween attractions.

Jagetz was treated and released from a Kansas City hospital.

Police said an officer had been released from a Kansas City hospital Sunday night, but would not disclose which hospital. Another officer remained in fair condition at the University of Kansas Medical Center, a hospital spokesman said. Police declined to release the officers' names.

Jagetz and Gerald Murillo, 22, were each charged in Jackson County Circuit Court with two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault on a law enforcement officer, and four counts of armed criminal action, said Georgia Sanders, a spokeswoman for the Jackson County prosecutors office.

Bond was set at $100,000, Lanpher said.

The gunfight began after an on-duty officer saw the men breaking into a car and alerted colleagues who were patrolling the area, said Capt. Rick McLaughlin.

The men fled and other officers, including the off-duty policemen, gave chase, a scuffle ensued and a suspect fired, McLaughlin said.

Officers returned fire, hitting Jagetz, and Murillo was caught as he turned a corner, Lanpher said.

One of the off-duty officers was shot twice, in the upper arm and in the hip, the other was shot in the abdomen, McLaughlin said.

The department will conduct an internal investigation of the shooting, even though the officers were off-duty, he said.