WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A Wichita police officer fatally shot a man suspected of killing his mother-in-law and shooting his wife.  It happened just after 7 a.m. Wednesday at a home in the 900 block of North Faulkner.

Officers began to approach the home and heard gunshots being fired from the inside to outside.  Officers also contacted a 36-year-old man that jumped out of a bedroom window to escape. He was not injured.  

Several homes were evacuated by the Wichita Police Department. The SWAT team was called in.

“We heard sirens before, and then, they told us it would be best if we leave our house for a while, and I seen all the guns drawn around the house and the neighborhood and police cars, and I said let’s go,” said Gene Krehbiel, lives in the neighborhood.

Officers learned 37-year-old Jason Williams was inside of the home and fired up to 25 shots. It was also learned Williams’ 30-year-old wife, 52-year-old mother-in-law Michelle Barr of Wichita, and his two children, ages 5 and 7, were inside the home.

“He (suspect) got into the house this morning,” said Chief Gordon Ramsay.

Negotiators with the police department used a phone to contact Williams and learned his wife and Barr were shot, and he was not going to leave the home alive. Negotiators continued talking to Williams.

Police said after Williams let the children go, he and his wife were having a fight outside the back door.

“There was some kind of altercation,” said Chief Ramsay. “He was armed. There was an altercation with the wife at the back door, and the officer shot him.”

Williams was pronounced dead. Barr was located with multiple gunshot wounds, and she was pronounced dead. The wife was transported to the hospital with a gunshot to her shoulder. The children were not harmed.  

“Horrific incident for them, we are going to do everything we can, we called our trauma folks, our psychologist was actually on the scene assisting negotiators, talking with the suspect as well, and we are going to make sure those kids get the help they need,” said Chief Ramsay.

Police said Williams and his wife had recently separated and had some recent domestic violence situations. 

Neighbors said the police handled the situation well.

“They made sure we got to the car safely and got out, and there was a large presence here, so no danger,” said Krehbiel.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) assisted in the investigation to provide transparency and avoid conflicts of interest.

The involved WPD officer is an 18-year veteran of the department and has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard protocol in officer-involved shootings.

The investigation is ongoing, and the case will be presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office. 

If you know of someone in a dangerous domestic relationship, resources are available. Please reach out.

  • Sedgwick County, 911;
  • Harbor House Domestic Violence Shelter, 263-6000;
  • Wichita Family Crisis Center, 267-7233;
  • Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center, 263-3002;
  • StepStone, 265-1611; or
  • The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.