2 dead after homicide, police chase, apparent suicide in Barton, Stafford counties

GREAT BEND, Kan. (KWCH) - Friday evening update: The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) provided further information on events that unfolded from a disturbance call in Great Bend that left two people dead. The KBI also identified the two people who died following a homicide, a police chase and an apparent suicide in Barton and Stafford counties.

The KBI said at about 9:10 a.m., Great Bend police responded to the disturbance call on 7th Street.

“When officers arrived they learned from witnesses that Mario Martinez-Garcia, 32, entered the workplace of Esmeralda Torres-Lopez, 32, forcing her outside where he then shot her,” the KBI said. “EMS arrived on scene and transported Torres-Lopez to a local hospital. She sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at 9:55 a.m.”

The KBI said preliminary information indicated that Martinez-Garcia fled the scene in a white 2021 Chevy Silverado and that nearby detectives from the Great Bend Police Department spotted the truck speeding away. This led to a pursuit.

A teen who lives near the scene where the shooting happened reflected on the moments of confusion and fear on Friday morning.

“Hearing two gunshots close to you is scary,” said 13-year-old Alfredo Valenciana.

Valenciana said he had to act quickly.

“Like, you don’t know what to do. Like, the first thing I did was I looked outside, I gathered all my family, locked the door, the front door and then went to my parents’ bedroom and hid,” he said.

In a news release, the KBI provided the following account of how the next series of events unfolded.

“Law enforcement from several additional agencies joined the pursuit. Law enforcement officers deployed a tire deflation device. Then a deputy from the Barton County Sheriff’s Office conducted a tactical vehicle intervention causing the pickup truck to leave the roadway and hit a barbed-wire fence. The truck came to rest in a field near mile marker 191 on Highway 50 in Stafford County. Officers carefully approached the truck to gain sight of the driver. Martinez-Garcia was found deceased inside the truck. He had a gunshot wound to his head, and was holding a handgun. The coroner pronounced him dead on scene at 9:45 a.m.”

The KBI said that no officers were injured.

“The KBI will conduct a thorough investigation into these incidents. Once completed, findings will be presented to the Stafford County Attorney for review. The investigation is ongoing,” the agency said.

1:30 p.m. Update: Great Bend Police Chief Steven Haulmark confirmed two people are dead after a shooting led to a high-speed chase through Barton County.

According to the Great Bend Police Department (GBPD), the situation began just after 9 a.m. as a domestic dispute at a home in the 1500 block of 7th Street.

When officers arrived, they found a woman suffering from a gunshot wound and saw a man fleeing the scene in a white Chevrolet truck.

The woman was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Police then pursued the white truck as the suspect headed southbound at high speeds on U.S. Highway 281. Officers deployed stop sticks in neighboring Stafford County, which brought the chase to an end.

“The Chevrolet pickup continued west on U.S. Highway 50, where the driver lost control of the vehicle, and it rolled over, coming to rest in a field,” the GBPD said in a release.

When officers approached the vehicle, they found the driver dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The GBPD has not released the name of either person and said this is still an active investigation.

One person is dead after a shooting in Great Bend resulted in a high-speed chase through two counties early Friday morning.

The Great Bend Post said officers were dispatched to a home in Great Bend around 9:15 a.m. Friday. Upon arrival, they found a person with gunshot wounds, and the shooting suspect fled in a vehicle south out of Great Bend on U.S. 281.

The suspect sped south, reaching speeds over 90 miles an hour, according to the Great Bend Post. Law enforcement deployed stop sticks in neighboring Stafford County, trying to stop the car. The suspect continued south before turning west onto U.S. Highway 50, then crashed just west of southwest 5th Avenue just before 9:40 a.m.

The Barton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the driver of the car died in the crash.

The sheriff’s office said this is an active investigation. 12 News will update this story as more details become available.