Shots fired outside Kansas City Public Schools’ East High as summer school dismisses
Two people exchanged gunfire outside of Kansas City Public Schools’ East High School as summer classes were dismissing Thursday afternoon, a police spokesman said.
No one was injured when the gunfire erupted about 2:30 p.m. Thursday in front of the high school at 1924 Van Brunt Boulevard on Kansas City’s East Side, said Sgt. Phil DiMartino with the Kansas City Police Department.
Detectives are working to identify the persons involved, and the investigation is ongoing.
The gunfire occurred shortly after classes were dismissed, said Shain Bergan, public relations coordinator for Kansas City Public Schools. The shots were fired from two vehicles driving along Van Brunt Boulevard in front of the high school.
People were outside the school, and students were filing onto buses. After the shots rang out, the buses left, and the school district’s security staff ushered everyone inside the building and initiated a lockdown, Bergan said.
Kansas City police responded, and once the area was secured, Bergan said the lockdown was lifted. The district’s transportation department worked to get the rest of the students home.
“This did delay many of our students getting home on time, but everyone was safe, and that’s what matters,” Bergan said.
A message notifying parents of the incident and the delay in getting their children home was sent. It was followed up with another message saying classes would be held on Friday as scheduled. Extra security and trauma clinicians were at the school for anyone who needed them.
It was unknown what the people were shooting at, Bergan said. No school district property was struck by gunfire.
The incident came on the second day of Kansas City Public Schools’ summer academy, according to the district’s website. The summer classes started June 5 and run to June 28. East High School is the site for all of the district’s high schools.
This story was originally published June 7, 2024 at 12:38 PM.
