‘Crazy, chaotic, sad’: Witness describes scene outside Westport bar after shooting
Emily Ivory didn’t think much of it when she heard a few gun shots outside her Westport apartment Sunday night.
Shootings have happened relatively often in the three years that Ivory, 22, has lived in the busy Kansas City neighborhood, so she kept cooking her dinner.
When she heard another 15 to 20 shots, Ivory realized this shooting was different. She went on her balcony and recorded a dispute happening outside the Westport Ale House, where she had been hanging out less than an hour earlier.
Then around two dozen police cars and helicopters showed up, she said.
“It was just a lot,” she said. “I haven’t seen that many cops ever in my whole life, and it just progressively got more and more. ... My thoughts were just crazy, chaotic, sad. Sad that we have to worry about stuff like that.”
The shooting occurred about 11 p.m. outside the Ale House restaurant and bar, 4128 Broadway Blvd., said Sgt. Bill Lowe, a spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The patrol is investigating the shooting, which killed one person and injured five, because it involved Kansas City police officers.
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.
The highway patrol on Tuesday identified the person killed as Cardell Crawford, 24, of Kansas City.
Lowe said everyone who was injured is in stable condition, but he didn’t know the extent of their injuries.
Ivory said she goes to Ale House often for drinks with friends on Sunday Fundays and for Chiefs games since it’s across the street from her home. She knows bartenders, managers, security personnel and servers at the popular bar, who have told her they weren’t hurt.
Because of violence in the area, Westport has instituted metal detectors and ID checks that require anyone entering the entertainment district between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays to be at least 21 years old.
The screenings include checkpoints around the perimeter of the 10-block pedestrian-only area. But the security perimeter typically does not include the Ale House.
Ivory said those safety checkpoints should extend out further to include Ale House and be implemented on more days to keep visitors safe. She also thinks parking should be more restricted within Westport, so that people can’t easily run to their car to grab a weapon even if they passed a metal detector check point.
Since the shooting, Ivory and her friends are more worried to go out in Westport. She said they’d rather hang out at her apartment and hope more safety measures are put in place by the time football season starts, so they can be back at Ale House for game days.
“Ultimately, it’s not worth your life,” she said.
This story was originally published July 11, 2022 at 4:31 PM.
