Fundraiser underway to help Cuban family hold funeral for KCK mass shooting victim
An online fundraiser has been set up to help a family from Cuba bury Martin Rodriguez-Gonzalez, who was killed in a mass shooting at a Kansas City, Kansas, bar.
Kansas City, Kansas, police identified Rodriguez-Gonzalez, 58, as one of the victims during a news conference Monday. Police said he was visiting from out of town at the time of the shooting, which killed four people and injured five others.
According to police, two gunmen opened fire around 1:30 a.m. Sunday at Tequila KC, a bar near 10th Street and Central Avenue.
Toni Maciel, who knew seven of the nine people shot, said she spoke with Rodriguez-Gonzalez’s sister and created the online fundraiser on Tuesday to help his family cover funeral expenses. A statement on the GoFundMe page said Rodriguez-Gonzalez is from Cuba and has no relatives in the U.S.
As of Tuesday night, the page had raised more than $700.
“(Rodriguez-Gonzalez) is a victim of the mass shooting that occurred Oct. 6, 2019 in a Kansas City, Ks Bar. His family do not have the funds to bury him in his country,” the GoFundMe statement said. “We want to help them the best we can so he can have a proper burial. All donations are for Martin’s services and family in Cuba. Please pray for them. God Bless.”
Rodriguez-Gonzalez was one of four people killed in the shooting. Three other victims who were killed in the shooting were identified as Everardo Meza, 29, Alfredo Calderon Jr., 29, and Francisco Garcia Anaya, 34.
One suspect in the shooting, Javier Alatorre, 23, has been arrested while another, Hugo Villanueva-Morales, 29, remains at large, police said. Alatorre and Villanuevea-Morales have each been charged in Wyandotte County District Court with four counts of first-degree murder.
This story was originally published October 8, 2019 at 9:18 PM.
