He Allegedly Abducted a Child and Led Police on a Chase Across Two States. The Chase Ended in a ‘Devastating’ Way.

It was a horrific night Friday in Leavenworth, Kansas: a young girl was abducted and then, as police closed in, the man who allegedly abducted her shot and killed her.

The man, identified as Marcus McGowan, then opened fire on police before officers shot him, KCTV-TV reported.

Image source: screengrab via KCTV-TV

The shootings occurred around 7:30 p.m., KCTV reported, but the tragedy began earlier in the evening when the 30-year-old McGowan allegedly kidnapped the little girl.

McGowan led police on a high-speed chase from Atchison, Kansas, where he allegedly abducted the girl, into Missouri and then back in Kansas, where he crashed into a barricade in Leavenworth.

According to police and witnesses, that's when McGowan shot the girl. Then he fired at least six shots at police, KCTV reported, before officers shot him.

He was taken into custody and treated at a Kansas City area hospital, police said.

KCTV5

The relationship between McGowan and the girl is unclear, but family members said that McGowan, who was not the girl's biological father, was dating her mother, and both the girl and her mother were living with McGowan's family.

"It's just devastating," said Patrick Kitchens, Leavenworth police chief, on Saturday morning.

Kitchens identified the victim as five-year-old Cadence Harris.

The white SUV McGowan had allegedly driven remained at the scene of the shootings Saturday morning, and Kitchens said the investigation into the tragedy would be long and complex.

KCTV5

This story has been updated.

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