KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – The Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed a deputy’s line-of-duty death Saturday afternoon.

Deputy Elijah Ming, 34, was shot and killed on July 26, 2025, while responding to a domestic incident, Wyandotte County Sheriff Daniel Soptic said Saturday.

Deputy Ming served as a Wyandotte County sheriff’s deputy for almost nine years.

Sheriff Soptic called Deputy Ming a loved member of the department.

“Deputy Ming gave his life serving Wyandotte County and all of its residents,” he said.

Sheriff Soptic went on to ask the public to pray for the Ming family, members of the sheriff’s office and the community as a whole.

“Today was not a good day”

Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor Tyrone Garner called Saturday’s shooting another incident of senseless, unnecessary violence. He said the Wyandotte County community has already begun to show its support for all those affected.

“We’re going to honor the memory of our fallen deputy by standing in complete solidarity with his family and our law enforcement professionals, who continue, at this moment, to put their lives on the line every single day,” Garner said.

Garner met with Deputy Ming’s family at the hospital on Saturday. He said there are no words of comfort that can ever ease the pain of losing someone you love to senseless violence.

“To say that [Saturday] has been the hardest day for me as the mayor of Kansas City, Kansas Unified Government is an understatement,” Garner shared. “This is truly a painful moment for Wyandotte County, and extremely painful moment for our community.”

What happened?

The investigation is now being handled by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which handles investigations where law enforcement officers are involved in a shooting.

According to KBI, a woman called the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department for help around 3:30 p.m. on July 26.

She was afraid for her safety while moving out of a home and wanted police assistance. She said a man had threatened her with a gun when she and her friends tried to move her out.

A short time later, around 3:45 p.m., Deputy Ming and a KCKPD officer arrived on the scene, located in the 2600 block of S. 30th Street.

As the two officials walked to the front door, KBI said a man inside started shooting at them. The KCKPD officer was not injured, but Deputy Ming was hit.

Multiple law enforcement officers were then called to the scene. They reported exchanging multiple rounds of gunfire with the man inside the home, all while attempting to save Deputy Ming’s life. He later died at the hospital.

KBI identified the man inside the home as 38-year-old Shawn Harris. He barricaded himself inside for about an hour, but surrendered around 5 p.m. after talking with negotiators over the phone.

He was shot and injured at some point during the standoff, but was treated at the hospital and is reportedly in good condition.

Who is Shawn Harris?

Harris has a criminal history in Wyandotte County and has spent more than a decade in the Kansas Department of Corrections, according to online documents from the State of Kansas. He was most recently released from prison on Dec. 11, 2024.

Prior to Saturday’s incident, Harris had been convicted three times in Wyandotte County.

The first conviction was for theft, which stemmed from an incident back in 2011. The next was an attempted aggravated battery conviction from an incident in February of 2012. Less than three months later, he faced a charge of aggravated battery, which he was eventually convicted of and then sentenced for in late 2013.

Since then, online documents show that Harris spent much of the last 12 years in the Kansas Department of Corrections before his sentence expired this past December.

This is a breaking news story. More information will be provided as it becomes available.

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