3 Kansas police officers injured by shotgun in vacant home

Three Wichita, Kansas, police officers were injured by a shotgun blast when they checked out a vacant home, authorities said.

Wichita Police said Sunday that “a modified, loaded shotgun” discharged as the officers entered the home around 4 p.m. Saturday. Investigators determined that no one in the home at the time, but the homeowners had called police suspecting someone was inside after noticing that some windows were open.

Police said two officers remained hospitalized Sunday with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening. One officer was in serious but stable condition and the other was being treated for minor injuries. A third officer who was hurt was treated at a hospital Saturday and released.

Officers surrounded the home for several hours Saturday before determining that no one was inside. Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said at a news conference Saturday evening that it wasn’t immediately clear whether the house had been booby trapped before officers arrived. Officials didn’t immediately answer questions Sunday about how the gun was modified or whether it had been set up to go off as officers entered the home.

Officers from the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are helping Wichita police investigate what happened.