Oak Park Mall shooting: Police seek two males, release photos
Overland Park police on Thursday released photos of two persons of interest in Wednesday night’s shooting outside Oak Park Mall and said they need the public’s help to identify and contact them.
They also released a photo of the suspect vehicle, a dark SUV crossover, according to Officer John Lacy.
Police were initially called at 8:30 p.m. about shots being fired inside the mall at 11121 W. 95th St., but officers determined no shots were fired inside. They did find an unoccupied vehicle parked outside, east of the food court, that was struck by multiple bullets.
It was the second shooting in as many months outside the mall. A scuffle on Oct. 26 led to shots being fired outside the mall’s food court entrance. After that shooting, Melgene C. Martin of Kansas City, Kan., was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, criminal discharge of a firearm at a structure and two counts of aggravated endangering a child.
The most recent shooting did not deter crowds of shoppers Thursday, who rushed in at lunchtime to return unwanted Christmas gifts, browse for themselves or grab a bite to eat.
Sharon Sandin, 66, of Kansas City, Kan., was there to return a sweatshirt she’d bought for her husband that she said didn’t impress. Sandin had also visited the mall the day after the Oct. 26 gunshot incident.
“I’m a fairly fearless person … but I don’t like to put myself in a situation where I could unintentionally put myself in harm’s way,” Sandin said.
Sandin said she had considered the mall a safe place, that it “has always been a warm, family-friendly area.” She’s not so sure now.
“I don’t know that I’ll come here after dark, and that’s sad,” she said.
Sydney Jones, 22, of Kansas City was bringing her younger sister to shop at what she said is “one of the best malls” in Kansas City.
She said the discovery of shell casings in the parking lot Wednesday night was “nothing foreign” to her, but she would have felt differently if there had been an active shooter.
“If it was active and big shebang I probably wouldn’t have come,” she said.
Ken Plahn, 55, of Kansas City thought twice before heading to the mall Thursday for his eye appointment.
“I guess, probably statistically, it’s unlikely to happen two days in a row,” he reasoned.
“It definitely is scary,” said Erika Crotts, 27, of Lenexa, who was on her way out of the mall to pick up her son. “But it’s kind of just the world we live in today.”
On Wednesday, Oak Park Mall had tweeted that it would resume regular hours on Thursday. That did not allay the fears of some commenters.
“I was thinking of going there this weekend,” said one Twitter user. “Will not jeopardize my family.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Overland Park police at 913-334-8742 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
This story was originally published December 27, 2018 at 1:27 PM.