Couple Rushed to Aid of Wounded Kansas Police Officer, Drove Him to Hospital – Officer

The couple pulled Lyons Police Sgt. Cory Ryan into their vehicle during a shootout and drove him to the hospital.

Lyons Police Department

LYONS, Kansas -- Wyatt Johnsonand his girlfriend were driving aroundLyonson Friday while she reminisced about her hometown. They were wasting time before a wedding rehearsal.

In southeastLyons, near the home of one of her childhood friends, the couple saw an officer at a door and then heard shots ring out. Sgt.Cory Ryanwas responding to a call from a man who was mowing the lawn when he was threatened by a neighboring man with a gun at around3:40 p.m.

The officer arrived at the home of the alleged shooter, 40-year-oldAdam Hrabik.

Johnson said he couldn't see the shooter but saw the "blast from the gun."

Ryan backpedaled.

Johnson said he believes Ryan had already been shot in the arm and chest before the officer got out his gun in self defense. Ryan, who was also shot in the face, fired back.

Johnson's girlfriend put the car in reverse, drove it 10 feet and turned the car sideways to create a barrier. Johnson pushed his girlfriend out the driver door and followed her out to put more distance between them and the shooter. He was on the phone with 911 while the two of them yelled for Ryan to come to them.

Johnson said it was like they practiced it before.

Shots continued to ring out.

The two pulled him into the car.

Johnson's girlfriend handed Ryan a towel to staunch the blood and tried to calm him. Johnson drove.

"He was trying to speak but he couldn't because the whole bottom of his jaw was gone," said Johnson, a 24-year-old who works for a tree service company.

They took him to theRice County District Hospitalon the west side of town. Ryan, 36, was then transferred to aWichitahospital.

As Ryan was being cared for, the shooter retreated into the his home, according to theKansas Bureau of Investigation.

Officers in the region started to descend on the home, bringing tactical gear and an armored vehicle.

The first officers to arrive also discovered that the man mowing the lawn, who identified himself on Facebook asBrian Friess, had been shot.

Lyonspolice chiefJustin Hollidaywas one of the officers who found Friess wounded and helped bring him to safety.

Friess, theLyons High Schoolboys basketball coach and the school district's 2020 Ray and Evelyn Lippelmann Outstanding Teacher, was also taken to theLyonshospital and then onto aWichitahospital.

On Saturday, he posted on Facebook that he had been shot in the left thigh and below his right lung.

"Both bullets will stay in my body -- it's not like the movies where they go after em!" the 56-year-old wrote, adding doctors are keeping an eye on the bullet lodged in his lung. "Thank you to EVERYONE for the nice words! I'm blessed to live inLyonsand Coach/teach at LHS!"

The standoff at the home lasted until around7:10 p.m.when officers convinced Hrabik to come out of his home. He was arrested and booked into theReno County Correctional Facility, according to the KBI.

Ryan, who has been with theLyons Police Departmentsince 2012, is in critical condition but is stable, according to Sterling police chiefDerrick Ploutz.

"I absolutely think they saved his life by doing what they did," Ploutz said, adding each second matters in a shooting.

The Sterling Police Departmentis helping supportLyonswhile it is down one officer. About the response from surrounding law enforcement agencies coming to help, Ploutz said:

"The response and the help that we give each other, I don't know any other place I would rather work," Ploutz said, adding: "We are small departments inKansasbut we always know that we got each other and when we are needed, everyone is going to be there."

A fund has been set up at theLyons Federal Bankto help cover medical costs for Ryan. Donations can also be dropped off at theLyons Police Departmentand theFirst Bankin Sterling and will be forwarded on to the fund for Ryan.

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Couple Rushed to Aid of Wounded Kansas Police Officer, Drove Him to Hospital - Officer