Security Officer Fatally Shoots Intruder at Kansas City Hall
LAWRENCE, Kan. January 8, 2026
An investigation is underway after a fatal shooting by a security officer on duty at the Lawrence City Hall.
According to the Lawrence Police Department (LKPD), Omar Dominguez Gavilan, 28, of Buffalo, Minnesota, was identified as the deceased in the deadly shooting on Monday.
Officials said that it was understood that Gavilan traveled through Kansas on a Greyhound bus. LKPD added that he was at Lawrence’s Kansas Turnpike Authority service station on I-70 just east of town on Sunday, Jan. 4.
The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) was called to remove Gavilan from the service station due to alleged erratic behavior. Officials said that KHP transported him to the Amtrak station in Lawrence. LKPD officers stated that they did not have contact with him on Sunday evening or during the morning hours of Monday.
LKPD officials said that just before 8 a.m. Monday, Gavilan entered Lawrence City Hall through a locked back door, then moved up a stairwell to the fourth floor, where he broke a window within another secure door to gain access to the office area.
Employees encountered him as he was moving along his route and notified security that an intruder was in the building and attempted to find somewhere safe to go.
According to the LKPD, an on-duty court security officer approached him, announced his authority and asked Gavilan to put his hands behind his back.
He allegedly didn’t comply with the security officer’s orders and fought him.
Officials said that the details of the fight will not be released until the investigation is finished, due to detectives interviewing those involved and not wanting to influence witness accounts.
Officials said that within seconds of shots being fired, LKPD officers were on-scene and began rendering aid to Gavilan, along with the initial security officer and a second security officer who had arrived at the scene.
Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical quickly arrived, took over his care, and then pronounced him deceased at the scene.
A full report is expected from the detectives in LKPD’s Investigations Unit to be sent to the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office for review within two to three weeks.
At this time, no other information is being released by Lawrence City officials.
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