Gunman in Red Bridge Road shootout that hurt child still at large; police want help

The shootout was terrifying.

Bullets flew around a south Kansas City gas station with customers inside and outside the store, sprayed at such range that a 4-year-old boy was struck in the arm in a house a quarter of a mile away.

One man was apprehended quickly by an off-duty police officer who rushed to the scene about 6 p.m. June 9 at 3401 Red Bridge Road.

But the other gunman?

Gone.

And the number of tips?

Zero, said Kansas City Police Det. Dawn Minor.

Police distributed surveillance photos Thursday of a man in a white tank top and bright blue athletic pants with a black handgun in his grip, running in a crouch among the cars out front of the gas station.

They also released a photo of a woman who was with the gunman. She was wearing a red top with straps and puffy sleeves, blue shorts, black boots and an elaborate shower cap.

"We've exhausted all the leads," Minor said. "We're hoping to get tips."

One particular witness has not been helpful, she said. That was the man whom the off-duty officer corralled and held at gunpoint near the bank across the street from the gas station.

Ellery H. Beals, 35, is charged with second-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action, and unlawful use of a weapon resulting in injury or death for his alleged role in the shootout that wounded the child.

Beals has denied he fired any shots, and said he was only fleeing the other man. But detectives said that surveillance footage showed both men firing weapons.

Detectives in court documents said Beals arrived at the gas station in a maroon Chevrolet Impala and entered the store. The other suspect pulled up in a black van alongside the driver's side of Beal's car. Beals came out of the store and walked toward the back of the van and the driver of the van got out and they exchanged gunfire.

Beals ran north toward the bank where he was stopped by the off-duty officer.

The gunman who is at large left the scene with the woman in the van, which has since been recovered unoccupied, Minor said.

The boy who was injured is recovering from his wound, Minor said. Another house in the same neighborhood to the northeast of the gas station was hit with bullets, but no one was injured.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Kansas City Police Assault Squad at 816-234-5227, or anonymous tips can be made to the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). The TIPS Hotline offers rewards for information that leads to arrests.

This story was originally published June 28, 2018 at 11:23 AM.