Luke Nozicka
Kansas City Star
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The son of a Wyandotte County sheriff’s deputy who was fatally shot Saturday has been charged with second-degree murder, according to prosecutors.
Zachary Arnold, 22, is accused of killing his father, Capt. Chris Arnold, according to Jonathan Carter, a spokesman for the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office.
Arnold was shot and killed just before 8 p.m. Saturday at his home in the 2800 block of North 76th Street in Kansas City, Kansas. Arnold was not on duty at the time.
It’s unclear what led up to the shooting.
In a Facebook post Monday, Sheriff Don Ash called Chris Arnold a “man of integrity who loved his family, especially his son Zach.”
“I don’t think I will ever forget Chris Arnold and those of you that knew him, even for a short period of time, probably won’t forget him either,” Ash wrote. “Let’s pull together in this difficult time and bring honor to Chris’ life and service.”
Zachary Arnold did not yet have an attorney listed in public court records who could be reached for comment.
Chris Arnold, who would have turned 59 Monday, was the fifth law enforcement officer in Wyandotte County who has been fatally shot in the past four years.
In one incident in 2018, two Wyandotte County deputies, Theresa King and Patrick Rohrer, were fatally shot while transporting jail inmates from a court hearing. In 2016, two Kansas City, Kansas, police officers were killed in separate incidents.
Hours after Arnold’s killing, another killing shocked Kansas City, Kansas, when two armed men walked into a bar and started shooting early Sunday morning, according to police. Four men were killed and five others were wounded.