By Kristin Hoppa
St. Joseph News-Press
ATCHISON, Kan. — The investigation into what triggered an Atchison man to shoot and kill a police officer, then himself, continued Tuesday.
Authorities said the motive remained a mystery as to why Skyler Barbee, 25, shot and killed Sgt. David Enzbrenner, 46, and then himself, on the streets of Atchison last Friday evening. Prosecuting Attorney Gerald Kuckelman Jr. said there was no connection between Mr. Enzbrenner and Mr. Barbee.
“He was a young man who was angry with authorities, and he went after a police officer,” Mr. Kuckelman said.
Mr. Enzbrenner, a 24-year veteran of the Atchison Police Department, was assisting other officers who were serving a nuisance order at a home at 12th and Division streets. As other officers cleared the scene, Mr. Barbee walked up to Mr. Enzbrenner and shot him in the back of the head, before turning the gun on himself. Mr. Barbee lived about three blocks away from where the shooting occurred.
The grandparents of Mr. Barbee live across the street from the house at which officers issued the nuisance order.
Leo Barbee Jr., Mr. Barbee’s grandfather, told The Kansas City Star that his grandson was upset with the justice system, noting that Mr. Barbee’s father has been serving life without parole at a Louisiana prison since he was 15.
Mr. Kuckelman said the sheriff’s department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation are reconstructing the crime scene and interviewing witnesses and people who may have had dealings with Mr. Barbee.
“There is obviously no one to prosecute, but there needs to be a complete investigation,” Mr. Kuckelman said. “We may never fully know why, but we can form a theory that may be useful for other areas, to see why someone might kill a cop randomly.”
Sheriff John Calhoon said the investigation may take several weeks to several months to complete.
Funeral/memorial services will be held for Mr. Barbee at the Shiloh Baptist Church, 1311 N. Seventh St., at 7 p.m. today. His body will be cremated.
City offices in Atchison will be closed Thursday in honor of Mr. Enzbrenner’s funeral, at Ralph Nolan Gymnasium on the campus of Benedictine College, beginning at 11 a.m.
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