Shooting at Thai Spice restaurant in Independence leaves one worker dead
A restaurant worker was shot and killed, possibly by another employee, inside a Thai food eatery Saturday night in Independence, according to police.
Police were called to investigate the shooting about 7:20 p.m. at Thai Spice in the 18900 block of East Valley View Parkway.
The restaurant, which is located in a shopping center near U.S. 40, was open and had customers at the time of the shooting, police said. No other injuries were reported.
Arriving officers entered the restaurant and found a person dead.
Police have not released the victim’s name, but Independence police spokesman Officer John Syme said the victim worked at the restaurant.
Syme said a person of interest, who was also said to be an employee, was detained for questioning.
Police were still investigating what led up to the killing.
“This is a place where we all shop and we come to this area and there’s a very large residential complex back here, but I don’t think there is a concern because of this incident,” Syme said. “This is definitely contained to this, and I want people to know that. I think that’s important for them to know for their safety.”
The killing marks the 10th homicide investigated in Independence this year, according to data kept by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings.
It is also the second deadly shooting Independence police responded to in two days. Early Friday morning, one person died and another was injured in a shooting in the 10600 block of East 15th Street. No arrests have been announced in that incident.
This story was originally published November 16, 2019 at 10:42 PM.
