TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Topeka Police Department has identified the man who was shot and killed Thursday morning as Gregory Dean Butts, 55, of Topeka.
On Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, at approximately 9:32 a.m., TPD Officers were dispatched to the 3500 block of S.W. Kerry Ave. in for a shooting. Police said one person died at the scene. One victim was transported to a local area hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The murder of Butts was the catalyst for a series of chaotic events that culminated in downtown Topeka with a gunfight between Eric D. Perkins, 33, of Excelsior Springs, Missouri, and local law enforcement.
According to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Perkins, 33, was arrested on Thursday as the primary suspect in a shooting that left Butts dead and another wounded in the early morning hours in south Topeka. Perkins was critically injured by police following a pursuit through the city that ended in the downtown area.
The KBI reported that Perkins remains in critical, but stable, condition. The officer who was wounded in the confrontation has been treated and released. The female passenger who was in the same vehicle as Perkins remains hospitalized and is in good condition.
The investigation is ongoing and no further information will be released at this time.