Wichita Police: Suspect in Fatal Hospital Shooting Dies by Suicide After Hours-Long Standoff
WICHITA, Kan. – Authorities say a 47-year-old parolee wanted in connection with a deadly shooting outside Wesley Medical Center has died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound following a tense hours-long standoff in north Wichita on Tuesday afternoon.
The Wichita Police Department (WPD) responded at approximately 2 p.m. to the 2300 block of North Somerset, located east of Amidon, after receiving information that Robert Schoenberger Jr., 47, was inside an apartment in the area. Sedgwick County dispatch categorized the incident as a “special assignment,” which WPD later confirmed was an active standoff.
Chief Public Information Officer Andrew Ford said that officers and the department’s crisis negotiation team made repeated attempts to persuade Schoenberger to surrender peacefully. “We wanted to bring him into custody alive, so that some form of justice could be sought for the victim and her family,” Ford stated.
When negotiation efforts failed, the SWAT team deployed chemical ammunition into the apartment in an effort to force Schoenberger out. However, there was still no response. Police then deployed a drone inside the unit to locate the suspect. The drone’s camera feed showed Schoenberger suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at 4:47 p.m.
The fatal shooting that sparked the manhunt occurred the night before, around 7:15 p.m. Monday, in the 500 block of North Hillside, outside Wesley Medical Center. Responding officers found a woman on the ground suffering from an upper-body gunshot wound. She was rushed into the hospital, but despite emergency efforts, she died shortly after arrival. Authorities have not yet released her identity.
Police confirmed that Schoenberger, a parolee with a criminal history, was the prime suspect in Monday’s killing. The motive for the shooting has not yet been disclosed, but investigators are working to piece together the events that led to the fatal encounter.
“This is a tragedy,” Ford said. “We have a young lady who lost her life, a family that is grieving, and now another life lost. We had hoped to take this suspect into custody to begin the process of seeking justice for her and her loved ones.”
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, along with WPD’s homicide unit, will continue looking into both the shooting and the circumstances surrounding Schoenberger’s death.
This incident marks another grim chapter in what police describe as an escalating cycle of violent crime in the area, and it underscores the challenges law enforcement face when suspects refuse to surrender.
