FORD COUNTY –  Tuesday evening, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Ford County Sheriff’s Office, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the Kansas Highway Patrol released an update on the conditions of the law enforcement officers involved in the Monday morning shooting in Dodge City.

Three deputies were shot and a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper was injured during the fatal shooting. 

The Ford County Sheriff’s Office requested the KBI conduct an investigation at approximately 9:20 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 23. KBI agents and the Crime Scene Response Team responded to investigate.

Preliminary information indicates that deputies from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office observed a blue Toyota Tundra driving through Minneola. The Tundra matched the description of a vehicle connected to a double homicide in Phoenix, Ariz. When deputies initiated a traffic stop, the female driver and her male passenger, who was later identified as Leroy D. Malone, 39, of Phoenix, Ariz., fled, prompting a vehicle pursuit. 

The vehicles headed north on U.S. 283 into Ford County, where deputies from the Ford County Sheriff’s Office and the KHP joined the pursuit. Deputies and troopers deployed stop sticks to try to slow the truck, and a deputy from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office used a maneuver to force the truck into the ditch. 

After the vehicle came to rest east of the intersection of U.S. 50 and 113 Road in Dodge City, gunfire was exchanged. Deputies from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the Ford County Sheriff’s Office discharged their firearms. A handgun was recovered from inside the truck.

Leroy Malone was hit multiple times by gunfire, and was pronounced dead at the scene. The female subject received multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita where she was in critical condition.  She is improving Tuesday, but she continues to be treated for serious injuries. 

Two deputies from the Ford County Sheriff’s Office were shot. One deputy was transported to a Wichita hospital with serious gunshot wounds. He underwent surgery Tuesday. He is improving, and is currently in good condition. The second deputy was treated for shrapnel injuries and has been released from an area hospital. 

The deputy from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office was released from the hospital Tuesday, and he is now recovering at home. 

A KHP trooper was bit by a police K-9 during the shooting incident. He underwent surgery, and is now recovering at home.

The sheriff’s deputies involved in the shooting are all on paid administrative leave pending further investigation, which is ongoing.