3 officers killed, others injured in Eastern Kentucky shooting: What we know

Multiple law enforcement officers are dead and several others are hurt after a shooting in Floyd County, according to the Floyd County sheriff and court documents.

The shooting happened Thursday and multiple agencies responded.

Here’s the latest of what we know:

What led up to the shooting

According to court documents, a man opened fire on officers with a rifle at his residence on Main Street in Allen. WKYT, the Herald-Leader’s news-reporting partner, reported that officers were serving a domestic violence order before the shooting.

Kentucky State Police spokesman Matt Gayheart said state police received a request for officer assistance shortly after 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The initial complaint was shots fired, but it eventually escalated to an active shooter incident.

The shooting occurred at 6:44 p.m., state police said in a news release Friday afternoon.

At about 10 p.m., the shooter was taken into custody after barricading himself inside his residence for several hours, Gayheart said.

The shooting involved victims from multiple agencies, according to media reports. A spokesperson for the Lexington Police Department confirmed that officers were responding to help.

“The Lexington Police Department had and has personnel in place to assist in any way possible,” said Sgt. Guy Miller. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all involved.”

Floyd County Sheriff John Hunt confirmed the news to multiple media outlets late Thursday night. Kentucky State Police spokesman Matt Gayheart told reporters in Allen that the shooter was in custody and there was no threat to the public around midnight as well.

‘They encountered pure hell.’ Sheriff says man who killed KY cops opened fire without warning

The suspect is an Allen, Ky., resident

Lance Storz, 49, is accused of the shooting.

As of Friday, he was facing two charges of murder of a police officer, four counts of attempted murder of a police officer, one additional count of attempted murder and one count of assault on a service animal, according to court records. Court documents alleged that Storz was the shooter, and Floyd County Attorney Keith Bartley confirmed Storz as the suspect.

Officers who were killed have been identified

Storz’ arrest citation said the shooting left two police officers and one police K9 dead. Late Friday, it was announced that a third officer had died. Several other police officers and one emergency management director were also injured.

The Prestonsburg Police Department confirmed the officers who died were Canine Handler Jacob Chaffins, Captain Ralph Frasure and Floyd County Sheriff’s Deputy William Petry.

Kentucky state police said Saturday that two officers who were injured were listed in stable condition and one had been released from the hospital. State police said the civilian who was injured was also being cared for at a hospital.

Injured officers were taken to hospitals in Prestonsburg, Lexington, and Huntington, W.Va., according to LEX18.

Floyd County suffered ‘a tragic loss’

In a Facebook post, Hunt thanked everyone for their thoughts and messages and asked people to pray for the ones involved in Thursday night’s incident.

Prestonburg Mayor Les Stapleton said the city’s administrative offices are closed Friday with plans of re-opening Tuesday. He encouraged people experiencing emergencies to still call 911.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said they were responding to the scene just before 9:30 p.m. Gov. Andy Beshear also sent out a tweet offering his thoughts and prayers for those involved.

Beshear sent out another tweet Friday morning thanking the first responders at the shooting.

Herald-Leader reporter Karla Ward contributed to this report.