Man sues Kansas City gas station employees, says he was shot in parking lot

A Johnson County man is suing a Kansas City, Missouri gas station, saying he was shot by its manager or an employee on the property, according to the lawsuit filed in Jackson County court.

The lawsuit states that on June 8, 2023, Nicholas Stone was at a Sinclair gas station at Grand Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, with three other individuals.

Stone and one other individual waited outside the gas station while the others went inside, the suit states.

As the pair were waiting outside, an unknown man approached the two and “became angry with them,” the lawsuit states. The man “appeared to be intoxicated, as he was stumbling, slurring his words, and behaving aggressively” toward Stone.

The lawsuit alleges the manager of the gas station came outside, confronted Stone and then “cornered him.” Stone’s cousin intervened and the confrontation became physical.

The lawsuit claims the unknown man was an employee or “agent” of the manager. The manager allegedly told the man to “go ahead,” and the unknown man fired a handgun toward Stone and the other individual, the lawsuit states.

Stone was fleeing the scene when he was struck by a bullet, according to the lawsuit. He said he’s suffered “serious and permanent bodily harm... and significant emotional distress.”

Police were called to the scene, but the manager and unknown man had already left the gas station, according to the lawsuit.

Sinclair Oil Corporation and AKI-1704 Grand, the limited liability company that owns the gas station property, are each facing one count of negligent hiring and retention against defendants and negligent security, according to the lawsuit.

The unknown defendant is facing one count each of battery and assault, according to court documents.

Further court hearings in the case have not been scheduled.

Sinclair Oil Corporation was not immediately available for comment.