Crown Center shooting is Kansas City area’s 3rd mall shooting in 2 months
A shooting at Crown Center on Wednesday that wounded six people marked the third shooting in two months at a shopping mall in the Kansas City metro, prompting police to condemn the violent acts and remind the public to stay aware.
One person was released from custody Thursday, Kansas City police said, as they continue to investigate the events that led to the shooting at one of Kansas City’s most popular downtown spaces for dining, shopping and other family-friendly activities.
Kansas City police and emergency medical personnel were dispatched around 5:45 p.m. to multiple 911 calls reporting the sound of gunfire and people shot inside the mall in the 2400 block of Grand Boulevard, said Sgt. Jake Becchina, a KCPD spokesman.
Two of the victims were discovered in the food court area on the lower level, where the shooting took place, Becchina said. Police later learned four more had arrived at a hospital by private vehicle.
Investigators were told the shooting began as a verbal argument between two groups described as “youths,” but the exact circumstances are still being investigated.
On Thursday, police said the shooting prompted a Crown Center security guard and a mall patron to also fire weapons in response. Those individuals have been identified and are cooperating with detectives, Becchina said.
Six victims are recovering with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police. Multiple people were detained Wednesday evening, but authorities did not say how many or if other suspects have been identified.
Detectives have already been in contact with prosecutors as the investigation continues, according to Becchina.
“Detectives need the public’s help from anyone who may have seen anything or has information that has not already been in touch with them to help identify anyone who may have been involved in this incident,” Becchina said in a statement Thursday.
Two mall shootings in November
The Crown Center shooting comes on the heels of two mall shootings in one weekend last November.
In one, four people were wounded in gunfire following an altercation, including a pregnant woman who died, at the Independence Center mall in Independence. In the other, at the Oak Park Mall in Overland Park, the shooting happened during a police scuffle that involved two suspected shoplifters.
A 19-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, man was charged with assaulting police officers during a struggle at the Oak Park Mall on Nov. 12. Nery Alberto Gonzalez-Munoz faces two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, among two other felony charges and four misdemeanors.
The charges came after an alleged shoplifting incident, when detectives tried to stop Gonzalez-Munoz and another man suspected of shoplifting.
According to police, Gonzalez-Munos got a hold of a detective’s gun and managed to fire a shot. No one was injured in the incident.
Just two days before, a shooting in the north entrance of Independence Center Mall wounded four people, including a pregnant woman. Police said the shooting is believed to have started with a dispute between two groups of people.
Karla Brown, the 19-year-old pregnant woman critically injured in the Independence shooting, died nearly a week later.
In both the Crown Center and Independence Center shootings, after evacuating the areas, police maintained a heavy presence in the area of the incidents and determined each were not active shooter situations and that there was no ongoing threat to the public. In both, the shootings were instead attributed to altercations between groups of youths.
As police continue to search for answers, Crown Center reopened to the public at noon Thursday.
“It’s a very lively part of our city. It’s not one that should be marked by gunfire,” Becchina said at a press briefing Wednesday. “I’ll stand here and say that every day. Kansas City should not be about gunfire, gun violence, homicide.”
The Star’s Bill Lukitsch contributed to this report.
