Westport shooting involving Kansas City police officers leaves 1 dead, 5 injured
A shooting Sunday night in Westport involving Kansas City police officers left one person dead and five injured, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The shooting occurred about 11 p.m. outside the Wesport Ale House restaurant and bar, 4128 Broadway Blvd., said Sgt. Bill Lowe, a spokesman for the patrol.
The gunfire began when a fight that started inside the bar moved outside, Lowe said. Three off-duty Kansas City police officers in uniform who were working security at the bar then exited and shot back.
Lowe said everyone who was injured is in stable condition, but he didn’t know the extent of their injuries.
Police radio traffic at the time indicated at least one security guard was among those hit by gunfire. Another was a patron inside the bar.
A Toyota SUV that remained overnight in the parking lot next to the Ale House had a bullet hole in the vehicle’s hood. There was also some shattered glass and dried blood on Broadway.
The highway patrol investigates shootings that involve Kansas City police officers.
Lowe said investigators don’t yet know if the officers shot anyone because of the amount of gunfire from other people. He added that the highway patrol will investigate the police officers’ actions only. If the investigation finds the officers’ shots weren’t responsible for the killing, it will become a homicide investigation carried out by the police department.
The police department on Monday referred questions about the shooting to the patrol.
Investigators hope witnesses who have information about the shooting contact the highway patrol, Kansas City police or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
Details of police response
Shortly after the gunfire erupted, Kansas City police dispatchers made a city-wide request for assistance from outside agencies, according to audio from Broadcastify.com
“Three parties are shot,” a dispatcher initially reported on the regional communication channel used law enforcement agencies in the Kansas City area.
Responding units were advised to enter the area from the south and the west. Meanwhile, officers on scene could be heard trying to control the crowd moments after the shooting.
“Keep these people back,” an officer is heard saying over the radio. “Keep these people back.”
“We got cars 10-23 (arrived on scene), but we need more for crowd control,” an officer advised shortly thereafter.
More police cars were coming, the officers on scene were told. The responding officers just needed to be told where to go once on scene.
“Keep them coming, we need cars in front of Snooze” A.M. Eatery, an officer said in reply.
Police also started setting up a perimeter around the shooting scene, having police vehicles stationed on Broadway at Westport Road and 43rd Street and at various locations on Pennsylvania Avenue.
“Just shut it all down,” the officer said.
While police were responding to the scene, one officer advised that there was a newer black and dark gray KIA that left the area southbound on Broadway.
“They were shooting as well,” the officer said.
Officers on Broadway were told that they needed to make sure they left entrances for ambulances that were responding to the scene. Meanwhile, an officer on scene advised that a fourth shooting victim had been found.
As police continued to deal with the crowd, a shooting victim, a security guard, was found just south of the Ale House. Another shooting victim was found inside the Ale House.
“I just want to confirm that we had an officer-involved shooting,” an officer told dispatchers. “KCPD did shoot.”
At one point, officers were told to clear people from the area.
“I want any citizens on the west sidewalk of Broadway to get them out of here,” an officer said.
Dispatchers advised a shooting victim had been dropped off at a nearby hospital by a black sedan with a flat tire on the passenger side.
When enough police arrived at the scene, commanders directed officers without assignments to the various hospitals where the shooting victims had been taken. Officers from other agencies who had not yet arrived on scene were told they were no longer needed.
“We’re good here in Westport,” an officer advised.
Mayor Lucas comments on shooting, gun laws
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted about the shooting Monday morning.
Lucas and Kansas City Police Department interim Chief Joe Mabin were in Washington, D.C. ahead of a celebration for a bi-partisan gun control bill passed last month and signed into law by President Joe Biden.
“The easy access to guns and the total lack of safeguards in our state to keep people from carrying them almost anywhere continues to put our people at risk each day,” Lucas wrote.
“I will keep pushing until it becomes clear to our Missouri leaders that more guns on our streets, with higher capacities, with no training requirements, no permits, and no way for officers to get guns off our streets,” Lucas tweeted, “are destroying any sense of safety we once had.”
Lucas spoke to The Star ahead of his visit to the nation’s capital and said the bipartisan effort from the White House doesn’t go far enough but shows that common sense gun violence solutions are possible and open the door for future actions.
“You’re basically taking a risk if you go into an entertainment district nowadays, not just in Kansas City, but anywhere in America,” Lucas told The Star. “I think this is where we can make a difference.
“I’m not taking lawful firearms from anybody. That’s not my issue. I ain’t going out (of the) state of Missouri to do that,” Lucas said. “What I am doing is saying, you know what, ‘maybe we can stop the slaughter on the streets at Kansas City.”’
Star reporter Cortlynn Stark contributed to this report.
This story was originally published July 11, 2022 at 6:37 AM.
