Staff report
Two Boone County deputy sheriffs were shot and wounded Thursday night while attempting to serve an arrest warrant at a home on Service Road in Walton in the Town Creek Crossing Apartments..
Shortly before 9:30 p.m., the sheriff’s department says deputies arrived at the residence to serve a felony arrest warrant on a man who was living there. A little more than a half hour later, after confirming the suspect was inside, deputies breached the front door and prepared to enter.
The sheriff’s office says as they did, the occupant fired multiple rounds, striking two deputies. The two were evacuated from the scene and taken to University of Cincinnati Hospital. One was shot in his chest, and is in stable condition, and the other was hit in the leg. He has been discharged from the hospital. The deputies names have not been released.
The man barricaded himself inside, and SWAT Team and negotiators, along with officers from several other Northern Kentucky law enforcement agencies responded, although they were unable to communicate with the suspect. The SWAT team deployed gas canisters, and after determining the suspect was not reacting to the gas, sent in a drone to search for him.
The drone discovered the man lying unresponsive in a second floor bedroom. The SWAT Team then entered the residence and confirmed there was no one else inside. A SWAT Team medic determined the man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The man has been identified as Justin Chapman, 39, and the warrant the police were trying to serve was for failure to pay child support.
The investigation into the incident remains active and ongoing.
The Boone County Sheriff’s Office asks that anyone who may have information that may assist in the investigation, is being asked to call them at (859) 334-2175, or email them at bcs@boonecountyky.org.
Kentucky Today’s Tom Latek contributed to this report.