In the heart of Wichita, a tense and tragic saga unfolded on Tuesday afternoon, August 12, 2025, culminating in the death of a wanted parolee and leaving a community grappling with sorrow. The Wichita Police Department (WPD) descended on the 2300 block of North Somerset, a quiet neighborhood east of Amidon, around 2 p.m., responding to a critical lead in a deadly shooting that had rocked the city just a day earlier. What followed was an hours-long standoff, a desperate attempt at resolution, and a grim conclusion that underscored the weight of violence and loss.

The focus of the police operation was 47-year-old Robert Schoenberger Jr., a parolee identified as the prime suspect in a fatal shooting outside Wesley Medical Center on Monday evening. The incident, which occurred around 7:15 p.m. in the 500 block of North Hillside, claimed the life of 46-year-old Terri Stidham. First responders found Stidham collapsed on the ground, a gunshot wound to her upper body proving fatal despite efforts to save her at the nearby hospital. Her death left her family, including her grieving children, to navigate an unimaginable loss, with one of her children launching a GoFundMe to honor her memory and seek support.

Schoenberger, described by police as armed and dangerous, was a man with a troubled past. Kansas Department of Corrections and KBI offender records revealed he was on parole for attempted indecent solicitation of a 14-year-old girl, with a criminal history that included convictions for theft, burglary, arson, and aggravated indecent liberties with a child. In a bold act of defiance, Schoenberger had recently cut off his ankle monitor, severing the tether that bound him to oversight and signaling his intent to evade capture.

On Tuesday, when police received information that Schoenberger was holed up in an apartment in north Wichita, they mobilized swiftly. The operation was deemed a “special assignment” by a Sedgwick County dispatch supervisor, reflecting the gravity of the situation. Officers, alongside the crisis negotiation team, made exhaustive efforts to coax Schoenberger into surrendering peacefully, hoping to bring him into custody without further bloodshed. “We wanted to get this male into custody for some form of justice for her and her family,” said Chief Public Information Officer Andrew Ford, his words heavy with the weight of the tragedy that had already unfolded.

But Schoenberger remained unyielding. As negotiations faltered, the WPD’s SWAT team escalated their approach, deploying chemical ammunition into the apartment in an attempt to flush him out. When even this failed to dislodge him, authorities took a modern approach, sending a drone into the apartment to locate their suspect. What the drone revealed was a haunting scene: Schoenberger, alone, had taken his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. At 4:47 p.m., he was pronounced dead, bringing the standoff to a somber close.

The events of those two days in Wichita left an indelible mark on the community. For Terri Stidham’s loved ones, the loss was profound, a wound deepened by the senseless violence that stole her life. For the police, the outcome was a bittersweet resolution—a suspect apprehended, but not in the way they had hoped. “This is a tragedy that this young lady lost her life,” Ford reflected, encapsulating the shared grief of a city mourning one of its own.

As Wichita moves forward, the echoes of this tragedy linger, a reminder of the fragility of life and the complex interplay of justice, loss, and redemption. For Stidham’s family, the road to healing will be long, but their community stands with them, united in remembrance of a life cut short and a resolve to seek a brighter, safer tomorrow.