Four federal agents wounded in Kansas shootout

Four federal agents were wounded in a shootout and fire that erupted while they attempted to arrest a fugitive at a Kansas motel, authorities said Sunday.

Craig Beam, chief deputy U.S. Marshal for the Kansas district, told USA TODAY that a team of FBI agents and Marshal Service deputies were looking for a fugitive when information led them to the Country Club Motel in Topeka on Saturday night. The agents were approaching the door when the suspect began shooting, Beam said.

He said three deputies and one FBI agent suffered non-life threatening injuries.

"We believe the fugitive set the hotel on fire from his room," Beam said. "That changed the situation entirely."

He declined to name the fugitive and said it was "very possible" the suspect died in the fire.

TheTopeka Capital-Journal reported that before the the shooting, officers had been looking for a person of interest in a holdup and carjacking that took place Friday. It was not clear if that suspect was the person sought at the hotel, the newspaper said. In that incident, the car was set on fire, and the robber was armed with a sawed-off shotgun, the newspaper said.

The same suspect also was sought in an attempted robbery and a convenience story robbery April 6, the paper said.