‘We were shocked’: Residents of Northland apartment complex find man dead in parking lot
Residents of a Northland Apartment complex in the wee hours of Tuesday morning found a man seizing and bleeding from gunshot wounds in the parking lot of the complex.
Kansas City police said they received calls of a shooting and responded around 12:30 a.m. to the the 8700 block of N. Kansas Place, a cul-de-sac within the Barrewoods Apartments complex in Clay County. Officers reported a man unconscious in the parking lot. First responders pronounced the man dead at the scene.
“I called 9-1-1 when I saw all the blood,” said one man who lives in the complex facing the lot where the victim was found.
He said he came outside after hearing a seventh gunshot.
“We don’t hear many of those around here,” he said, having lived in the building for six years.
When he walked out he saw the victim, hunched against a black Volkswagen in the parking lot.
“I thought he was changing a tire,” he said.
As he got closer, he saw pools of blood dripping from the victim, seeping onto the sidewalk and below the car. He saw the man collapse and start to spasm.
He said the victim did not look familiar, but a woman, who he assumed to be the victim’s partner, appeared to rush out of the complex and scream before being comforted by neighbors, he said.
“We heard the shots and looked outside,” said another man, who lives in an apartment a block away from where the victim was found.
He said he saw a golden, dark-colored car drive by, firing about seven gunshots at someone at around 12:15 a.m. He and his wife saw the car drive away and then come back with more gunshots, he said.
They were home with their two young daughters at the time. He said that in their 14 years of living at the complex they had never heard gunshots.
“We were very shocked,” he said. “It’s very safe here.”
At around 12:40 a.m., his wife and daughter walked outside to see if anyone was hurt. They heard a woman screaming and walked toward what appeared to be a crime scene.
“She saw the man was dead and he had a gun,” he said.
Close to 1 a.m. neighbors were pouring out of the complex to see what happened, but it was still pretty quiet, he said.
Three other neighbors similarly reported hearing at least ten rounds of gunshots and then a woman’s scream.
After arriving on the scene, detectives began canvassing the area of the complex for any witnesses, and crime scene investigators processed the scene for evidence.
Police did not provide any suspect information. The investigation is ongoing.
If anyone has any information and has not been in touch with detectives they are asked to contact the Homicide Unit directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS, There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest in this case.
This story was originally published December 21, 2021 at 3:27 PM.
