KCPD: 2 dead, 1 critically injured in shooting following fender bender crash Saturday
Update: Police on Monday identified the fatal shooting victims as Joseph Smith, 64, and Curtis Thompkins, 33.
A triple shooting left two people dead and one person critically injured Saturday evening in Kansas City, police said.
Officers were called at 8:40 p.m. to an outdoor disturbance in the 5000 block of Agnes Avenue, Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman with the Kansas City Police Department, said in an email. The call was later upgraded to a shooting.
Police at the scene found two men who were unresponsive with apparent gunshot wounds in front of a home just north of East 51st Street and Agnes Avenue, Becchina said.
A third man, who had also been shot, was found just north of the homicide victims, Becchina said. He was taken to the hospital in critcal condition.
The shooting seems to have stemmed from a fender bender crash, which caused a “large disturbance” that led to gunfire, Becchina said.
“Detectives and crime scene investigators are canvassing for witnesses and processing the scene for evidence at this time,” Becchina said late Saturday. “They will be working to identify the victims and determine what the sequence of events was that led to them being shot.”
Saturday’s killings mark the 27th and 28th homicides in Kansas City this year. Kansas City ended last year with 182 homicides, the most in the city’s history in a single year, according to data maintained by The Star.
Police are asking anyone with information on the shooting to contact homicide detectives at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information in the killing.
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 March 7, 2021 at 8:02 AM.
