Triple shooting kills 2 men, critically injures woman at Kansas City apartments
Police were looking for a man who allegedly shot and killed two other men and critically injured a woman during an argument at a south Kansas City apartment complex early Monday, police said.
The woman’s injuries are believed to be life-threatening, said Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, in an email.
It’s the city’s fourth double homicide in the past two weeks, Mayor Quinton Lucas posted Monday morning on Twitter.
“My thoughts are w/the victims’ families,” he wrote. “Our work continues on how to quell the unacceptable uptick in fatal shootings during the (COVID-19) pandemic.”
He pointed out that since mid-March, there have been more than two dozen people killed in homicides in the city.
In the latest homicide, officers responded shortly after 1:30 a.m. on a shooting at the Willow Creek apartment complex in the 9900 block of Walnut Drive.
Arriving officers found one of the male victims just inside a building at the complex. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Becchina said.
Officers then found the female shooting victim inside an apartment. Emergency medical workers rushed her to the hospital, Becchina said.
Meanwhile, police learned that the third shooting victim was taken to a hospital in a private vehicle. The man was declared dead at the hospital, Becchina said.
Witnesses told police that an argument involving the victims and the shooter preceded the shooting. Detectives were interviewing multiple witnesses while crime scene investigators were collecting evidence.
No suspect information was available.
The two men’s deaths are the 67th and 68th homicides this year in Kansas City. That compares to 52 homicides by this time in 2019.
Because of the size of the complex, detectives were hoping people saw or heard something leading up to the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
Gun violence will be the subject of a new, statewide journalism project The Star is undertaking in Missouri this year in partnership with the national service program Report for America. As part of this project, The Star will seek the community’s help. To contribute, visit Report for America online at reportforamerica.org.
This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 7:43 AM.
