Updated: Suspect dead, officer injured after a shooting at a Lexington hotel
Lexington police have shot and killed a suspect who allegedly shot an officer, the police department said in a release Friday morning.
The shooting happened at a hotel Thursday night, police said. The suspect who was shot was taken to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead, police said. The officer who was shot suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police haven’t identified the suspect or any officers involved. More information is expected to be released later Friday morning.
Around 10:43 p.m. Thursday, officers were dispatched to the Extended Stay America on Tates Creek Road for a report of trespassing and a delayed assault report, according to Police Chief Lawrence Weathers. The suspect refused to answer the door when officers arrived on scene.
“Officers were able to gain access to the room and shortly after entry, the suspect fired a gun at the officers,” Weathers said. The officers returned gunfire. The officers backed out of the room after returning gunfire.”
The suspect refused to leave the room after the shooting, according to Weathers. This led to a multi-hour standoff which ended when officers entered the room at 4:30 a.m. and located the suspect suffering from a gunshot wound.
The Fayette County Coroner’s Office identified the suspect as Joshua Hagans, 40. He was pronounced dead at 5:05 a.m. from multiple gunshot wounds, the coroner said.
The injured officer has been released from the hospital, Weathers said Friday morning.
Kentucky State Police have taken over the investigation, which is a standard procedure in shootings that involve police officers. The state police Critical Incident Response Team has jurisdiction to investigate shootings involving officers across the state.
Weathers said Friday morning that two officers were involved, including the one who was shot. Their bodycams were activated, Weathers said. Both officers are being placed on administrative assignment until the end of an investigation into the shooting. It’s common for the department to place officers on administrative assignment after they’ve been involved in a shooting.
This is the second time in a week that Lexington police have shot a suspect. Last Thursday police shot an armed individual who wasn’t complying with verbal commands from officers on Jennifer Road, police said. That suspect suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
In March police shot and killed 43-year-old Frederick Clinton Miller after he allegedly fired at officers on Gay Place.
Weathers said that shootings involving police aren’t common in Lexington, but “they can happen anywhere.”
“There are a lot of emotions involved” in shootings that involve police, Weathers said. “The officers that are involved, their families, the emotions are involved. The suspect and relatives, you have emotions there and then you have emotions from the public.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published September 9, 2022 at 6:31 AM.
