Former employee at cave complex said he had ’45 bullets,’ starting manhunt: charges
A former employee at a business in an underground cave complex in Kansas City has been charged with making a terrorist threat after reports he returned to the property set off a lockdown and a massive search Tuesday.
Clay County prosecutors have charged 45-year-old Kevin J. Becknal of Orrick, Missouri, accusing him of threatening former co-workers at the sprawling Hunt Midwest SubTropolis complex at 8600 NE Underground, where thousands of people work.
Federal and state law enforcement joined Kansas City police in searching the property Tuesday after it was reported Becknal told a former colleague he was armed and was going to “shoot people around here,” according to court records.
Becknal had been terminated several days earlier from a business located in the complex. The facility has about six million square feet of space and houses several businesses with as many as 2,000 employees, according to court records.
Prosecutors allege Becknal returned to the job site Tuesday and approached a former coworker.
Becknal told the man to summon one of the supervisors. While they talked, Becknal told the man that he had 45 bullets and was going to “shoot people around here.”
Becknal drove off 10 minutes later.
The worker immediately alerted security.
Unsure of whether Becknal was still in the complex, police arrived and instructed workers to remain in their offices or businesses and lock the doors. The complex reopened several hours later after police were unable to locate Becknal.
Kansas City police later said Becknal was arrested at 95th Street and Mission Road, which is in Prairie Village, Kansas. He had previously made threatening statements after he was terminated, police said.
This story was originally published June 26, 2019 at 12:32 PM.
