Officer involved shooting under investigation in Shawnee County, Kansas

SHAWNEE COUNTY – Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) agents and the Crime Scene Response Team (CSRT) are investigating after a fatal officer-involved shooting occurred early Thursday morning in Topeka.

On the morning of Thursday, Oct. 13, at around 1:10 a.m. the Topeka Police Department (TPD) requested KBI assistance to investigate the shooting incident. Preliminary information indicates that just before 12:30 a.m., TPD received a 911 call from a resident in Topeka, requesting help due to a domestic disturbance. The caller’s family member was inside the home, armed with a knife, and he was behaving erratically.

Officers from TPD responded to the area. The woman was able to safely escape, and the suspect, later identified as Taylor L. Lowery, 33, of Topeka, drove away from the residence in an SUV. Officers attempted to catch up to Lowery, and quickly located him outside of a Kwik Shop.

Officers observed Lowery attempting to forcibly steal a car that was parked at the Kwik Shop. He was holding a large kitchen knife against the driver of the vehicle. This car was occupied by two women and an infant.

Officers intervened in the carjacking. They gave repeated commands to drop the knife. Lowery then advanced toward officers holding the knife. During the incident, five officers from TPD fired, striking Lowery multiple times.

EMS responded, but Lowery was pronounced dead at the scene. No civilians or law enforcement officers were injured during this incident. The KBI will conduct a thorough and independent investigation into this shooting. Once completed, the investigative findings will be presented to the Shawnee County District Attorney for review. The investigation is ongoing. No further information will be released at this time.