A Kansas City, Kan., police captain was fatally wounded while responding to a drive-by shooting in the city, USA Today reports.
Capt. Robert Melton was pronounced dead at the hospital after being shot as the hunt for suspects continues, Mayor Mark Holland confirmed in a statement.
"This is a very tense and volatile time in our community and our nation," Holland said, according to the report. "It is important that we not jump to conclusions or speculate about this situation. Our police and city officials will share information as it becomes available. As we wait for that information, let us focus our thoughts and prayers on Capt. Melton’s family, our police department and on the community."
Earlier Tuesday, Kansas City Police Chief Terry Zeigler tweeted that an officer had been shot, and asked for prayers.
"As Capt. Melton was arriving, the suspects bailed from the vehicle and opened fire, striking Capt. Melton and fatally wounding him," Zeigler said, according to Fox4KC.
The news station reports that two suspects have been arrested in the shooting but police are looking for a third, and possibly a fourth, suspect.
"He was alone at the time. I don't want to go into details why. We don't know the situation yet. People need to be notified before I start giving out any details on that," police spokesman Tom Tomasic told the news station.
The news station asked Tomasic if Melton's shooting was related to other attacks on police, and Tomasic said that "there's no way to know at this time."
"As far as we know, this started out as a crime that we were investigating, so to just say that he was shot for no reason, we don't know that yet. We do believe that he was investigating a crime, so he was out here doing his service," he said.
Melton, 46, had been on the police force for nearly 17 years and was promoted to captain in May 2015, the news station notes. Before working for Kansas City's force, he worked for the Wyandotte County Sheriff's Office. He was also a member of the Kansas National Guard, Fox4KC notes.