WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A wounded Kansas sheriff’s deputy managed to kill his attacker and likely saved the lives of two witnesses before he collapsed and died from a gunshot wound, according to a Kansas sheriff.

Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter said Tuesday he has no doubt that Deputy Robert Kunze “prevented loss of other life” when he shot 29-year-old Robert Greeson. Investigators say Greeson shot the deputy during a confrontation on a rural county road Sunday afternoon,

Kunze responded to a report about a man in a stolen black truck who was lurking around two all-terrain vehicles and another pickup truck about 20 miles west of downtown Wichita.

Investigators said an adult and a teen had followed Greeson and were present when shots were fired as the 41-year-old deputy arrested the convicted felon. A bullet struck Kunze above his protective vest during the fight.

The two witnesses were standing or hiding just feet away when the shooting occurred. The sheriff said Kunze easily could have turned on the witnesses, passing motorists or officers rushing to the scene.

“Without a doubt in my mind, he (Kunze) prevented loss of other life because of the two witnesses standing there” when the shots rang out, Easter said. “They’re witnesses to (the suspect) murdering a sheriff’s deputy. That puts them in harm.”

Greeson had an extensive criminal history , including a conviction for aggravated battery. He had committed a carjacking the night before the shooting, Easter said.

Emergency radio traffic showed Kunze telling a dispatcher in a strained voice, “I’ve been shot.” Easter said those were Kunze’s last words over the radio.

A preliminary investigation determined that when Kunze patted down Greeson, he found a gun in the suspect’s waistband and moved it away. When Kunze began handcuffing Greeson, the two started fighting. Easter said it was too soon to release more details from the investigation.

Kunze, a 12-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, received first aid at the scene and treatment afterward. He was pronounced dead after being taken to a Wichita hospital.

TOPEKA —The Kansas National Guard’s Joint Operations Center has received a tasking call from the North Carolina National Guard seeking support for an Emergency Management Assistance Compact request.

According to a social media report, four Kansas Army National Guard and eight Kansas Air National Guard nurses will provide support to North Carolina Public Health at local shelters in the Brunswick, North Carolina, area. The mission duration will be 14 days with two days travel time.

“We are grateful to the members of our Kansas National Guard for always being ready to lend a hand when called upon,” said Governor Jeff Colyer, “and thank them for their willingness to assist the people of North Carolina with much needed hurricane relief.

Two other Kansas Guardsmen are currently in Washington D.C. providing support to the National Guard Bureau for military intelligence and logistics, and nine Airmen from the 184th Intelligence Wing are in Wichita providing satellite imagery support.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A woman says she and her boyfriend had been “been drunk for about a week” before one of their 2-month-old twins died in a Wichita motel room where mold and curdled-milk filled bottles were found.

An affidavit was released Tuesday in the case against 39-year-old Christy Rollings and 34-year-old Kyle Kempton. They are charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Patrick Kempton, who was found dead on Aug. 30 in a motel bed. His twin wasn’t hurt.

Court records say investigators also found several empty liquor bottles in their room and papers for Alcoholics Anonymous.

Police found the couple drunk on Aug. 28 and took the twins to Rollings’ mother. But Rollings picked the babies up the next morning and returned to the hotel.