WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A toddler was hospitalized after a shooting near Cheney Lake around noon on Monday. The Reno County sheriff says it started with a Wichita kidnapping.

He says a man abducted a mother and her children from Wichita and brought them to Cheney Lake. At some point there was an argument and the mother tried to escape in the car with her children.

(KSN photo)

The sheriff says the man shot the vehicle and hit the toddler.

“She tried to escape. She noticed that the child was injured and was trying to get to safety, ”said Reno County Sheriff Darrian Campbell.

The victim is two years old and was shot in the stomach in a car seat. The child was taken to Wesley Medical Center with potentially serious or life-threatening injuries.

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The shooter is now on remand after the sheriff said several agencies were working to find him.

“The plane led the officers on the ground to the suspect. You could see him. He came out of the wooded area and went back in or something like that. They took him into custody, ”said Campbell.

The authorities are looking for the weapon.

Campbell said the suspect and the woman knew each other. He said he didn’t know if she was hurt.

“I have no reason to believe that she was hurt. I know I think there was one try, but I don’t know all the facts about it yet, ”said Campbell.

Reno County notified people in the area that they were on the alert about the situation.

The Sedgwick and Reno County Sheriff’s Offices are assisting the investigation.