Accused shooter of KC bus driver and officer was seen stealing man’s wallet: charges
A 25-year-old Kansas City man has been charged with felony first-degree assault and other crimes in connection with a Thursday shooting of a police officer and bus driver.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office on Friday announced the charges against Justin A. Rogers. The shooting was one of two separate incidents on Thursday in which a Kansas City Police Department officer was shot.
Rogers, witnesses say in police records, was robbing an intoxicated man of his wallet at a bus stop near Independence and Wilson avenues.
A bus driver for the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority told police she stopped her bus as she approached Independence Avenue when she saw Rogers standing over a man and removing his wallet. Rogers boarded the bus, at which time the bus driver called for a supervisor, according to a probable cause statement.
The supervisor got on the bus at a stop near Independence and Hardesty avenues to discuss the matter with the driver; the two tried to appear as though they were discussing a problem with the bus itself to avoid the suspect’s attention.
The supervisor got off the bus and the suspect approached the driver, according to police records, to ask what was going on.
Two police officers arrived at the scene and the suspect got off the bus, at which time the driver said she could hear gunshots. The bus driver could see an officer on the ground trying to get away from Rogers, who stopped and started shooting in her direction six or seven times, according to witnesses.
The bus driver was shot in the shoulder and was taken to a hospital. The officer was also shot in the upper shoulder and taken to a hospital. The officer was released later on Thursday.
Rogers was also shot and taken to a hospital. Rogers also faces two counts of armed criminal action and felony unlawful use of a weapon.
Court records show that a Justin Rogers at the same address as the one listed in Friday’s charging document had been charged with stealing a vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident and property damage in connection to a 2015 incident.
That case is still pending in Jackson County Circuit Court. An warrant was issued for Rogers’ arrest for a failure to appear to a 2019 court hearing.
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 and sponsored in part by Missouri Foundation for Health. 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 July 3, 2020 at 12:24 PM.
