Four people with guns seen during George Floyd protest at Plaza, KCPD says
Panic briefly set in and a large group of people began running Friday night during a protest for George Floyd after a man was seen carrying a rifle at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.
After police responded to the incident, protesters continued on with the demonstration, chanting “I can’t breathe.”
Capt. David Jackson, a Kansas City Police Department spokesman, said police received reports of four people with guns. Jackson said police have “addressed it” but he declined to give specifics during a 9 p.m. briefing with reporters. No injuries and no arrests have been reported.
As the night went on, police officers donned protective gear.
“We’ve had some reports and we’ve had some sightings. Some of our people have located some people who have had guns, so we’re keeping an eye on that,” Jackson said. “As a result, we’ve put on some more protective equipment.”
Jackson said 75 police officers were at the planned protest, and officers remained there Friday evening. He estimated that about 300 people showed up to the rally.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of people gathered by the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain to protest police brutality and the death of Floyd, who died while in police custody in Minneapolis on Memorial Day. Kansas City joined other major cities, including St. Louis, that held protests of their own earlier this week.
Protesters in Kansas City held signs sharing messages such as “Black Lives Matter,” “Stop the Violence,” “I can’t breathe” and “End police brutality.”
Many chanted “No lives matter until black lives matter” and “What’s his name? George Floyd,” while cars driving by honked in support.
About 10 p.m. protesters were marching along 47th Street and on Ward Parkway. Police who had earlier been stopping people from entering the street stood by as people walked in the road.
More than 30 officers lined the street at Ward Parkway and Central, allowing protesters to walk in the road.
At one point, a white pickup truck hit a person walking in the street. The person did not fall, but continued marching. At another location, people started banging on a truck until it accelerated and drove away.
As marchers entered Main Street near 46th, traffic began to get backed up.
At the Westport Ale House, 4128 Broadway Boulevard, someone broke out a window in the front of the building.
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 9:28 PM.
