May 28 (UPI) -- A solider stationed in Kansas saved "countless lives" when he drove his vehicle over a gunman who was shooting randomly at people from a bridge in Leavenworth, authorities said.
Leavenworth Police Chief Pat Kitchens told reporters one person, also a soldier stationed at the Leavenworth base, was shot by the gunman and was taken to a local hospital.
Authorities from multiple agencies descended upon the Centennial Bridge that connects Kansas to Missouri after receiving several calls of shots fired, possibly the result of a road rage incident, at around 11 a.m. Wednesday but arrived to discover that the shooter, armed with multiple guns, had opened fire at random.
Officers found the shooter trapped under the vehicle of a soldier who had been in traffic when the incident unfolded and decided to take action by running the gunman over, Kitchens said, "likely saving countless lives."
Related
Both the suspect, a Platte County, Mo., man whose identity was not revealed, and the gunshot victim were transported to a local hospital in serious but stable condition, he said.
Two vehicles were struck by gunfire, he said, adding the wounded soldier was not specifically targeted.
"There doesn't appear to be a specific target," Kitchens said. "The person was simply randomly firing at vehicles as they passed by."
The motive was under investigation with authorities "evaluating the person's history with the community," he said, adding two weapons, a handgun and a semiautomatic rifle, were recovered from the scene.
"What was a very, very dangerous situation, fortunately, was ended quite quickly," he said.
The bridge, which was closed due to the investigation, has since reopened.
