A 25-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, man has been charged with unlawful use of a weapon in connection to a shooting in Westport early Saturday that killed one person and wounded four others.

Devon L. Carter was also charged in Jackson County Circuit Court with armed criminal action for the shooting that happened just before 1:30 a.m. at Mill Street near Westport Road.

The shooting appeared to have stemmed from an altercation earlier that evening inside a Westport nightclub, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a news release Sunday — Carter’s birthday, according to the announcement.

One victim died from gun injuries. Police have not released that person’s name.

Four others were wounded: Two men are in critical condition, a woman has non life-threatening injuries and another man is in stable condition, police said.

Carter told homicide detectives that at least 30 friends and relatives had been in a Westport club with him for a birthday celebration.

A Westport spokeswoman told The Star the group had been in the Throwback dance club on Westport Road.

According to court records, an off-duty Kansas City police officer was working at 40th and Mill streets when he saw occupants of a white Chevrolet Tahoe shooting at a group on Mill Street, just north of Westport Road outside a parking garage.

Soon after, an officer on the way to the shooting spotted a white Tahoe backed into a parking spot at the CVS Pharmacy at 39th and Main streets. Several women stood around the vehicle.

The officer checked out the SUV and noticed spent shell casings inside and multiple bullets holes. No one was inside the vehicle, and the women said it belonged to a relative, according to court records.

When the SUV was being towed away, Carter approached the officers. He said he had been in Westport celebrating a birthday. He said he heard multiple gunshots and realized that his vehicle had been struck by bullets during a crossfire. He parked at the CVS because the gunfire flattened the tires, prosecutors allege.

Carter was taken into custody and placed on an investigative hold.

Homicide detectives obtained surveillance video that confirmed occupants of the Tahoe had fired guns from the vehicle, prosecutors allege. The video also showed that after the SUV parked near 39th and Main, two other vehicles pulled into the parking lot, and several persons got out of the Tahoe and into those vehicles, carrying undisclosed items with them.

Police recovered 95 shell casings in the area of the shooting. About 40 of them matched shell casings found in the parked SUV, court records stated.

Carter said he was the only person driving the SUV that evening. He said he saw a group of men he did not recognize, armed with guns as he pulled out of the parking garage. The men opened fire, he said.

Carter said he drove to 39th and Main streets, where he parked the SUV.

Detectives told Carter that surveillance video of the area showed occupants firing weapons from inside of his SUV. He denied anyone shooting in his vehicle.

Carter told investigators he was “very drunk and could not recall exact details.”

On Saturday, Mayor Quinton Lucas said that combating gun violence and crime needs to be a top priority for the city. Despite resources and efforts to address the issue, more needs to be done, Lucas said.

“If we had the answer we would certainly be doing it,” Lucas said. “We’ve had a violent crime epidemic in Kansas City for years.

“It’s my job to make sure we fix it.”

This story was originally published March 1, 2020 at 11:09 AM.