Staff at KC Plaza holiday pop-up bar corral man armed with knife using stools, furniture
Employees at a pop-up holiday bar in Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza used items from around the busy establishment to restrain a man who allegedly threatened people with a knife Saturday, police said.
Prosecutors charged Rustam Huseinov, 37, of Kansas City, with several felonies and a misdemeanor in Jackson County Circuit Court following the incident, including first-degree terrorist threat, first-degree harassment, second-degree assault, first-degree property damage, first-degree trespass and three counts of armed criminal action.
Huseinov’s bond was set at $75,000.
Police were called to the Miracle on the Plaza pop-up bar in the 4800 block of Jefferson Street around 11:50 p.m. Saturday on a report of an armed person at the bar, said Captain Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department. The man was reportedly armed with a knife and attempting to stab people in the establishment, according to court documents.
Officers arrived and found employees had used stools and bar furniture to barricade the person in a corner, Becchina said. Huseinov was taken into custody.
No one was seriously injured, police said.
“Fortunately, through their heroic actions there were no injuries during this incident,” bar staff said in an unsigned email to The Star. “Moving forward, we will add additional security and off duty police officers to reinforce that the safety of our patrons and employees is our top priority.”
‘Bizarre’ behavior
Staff reported Huseinov had been frequenting the bar for about a week. Court documents list the man as a resident of a nearby apartment complex along Ward Parkway.
Employees described his behavior as “bizarre” and alleged he had made sexual comments and gestures before he was told he could not come back to the bar.
Bar staff told The Star the patron was originally removed Thursday evening because he had been disruptive.
Shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday, Huseinov refused to leave the bar, and police gave him a warning. He was formally banned from the bar and told not to come back.
About an hour later, he returned with a large kitchen knife and attempted to stab and cut employees who had escorted him out, police said. After a struggle during which the man allegedly yelled at employees that he was going to “end them,” staff and patrons were able to subdue him.
There were about 75 people in the bar at the time, and all the patrons fled because of the incident, according to court documents. Police said none of the open bar tabs, which totaled more than $900, were paid. Damage to glasses, tables and chairs totaled more than $3,000.
