Sisters charged in weekend shooting at Kansas City smoke shop: Prosecutor
Two Kansas City sisters were each charged with three felonies in a Saturday shooting at a Northeast Kansas City smoke shop.
Ashley Mack and Mia Shaw were both charged with armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and second degree burglary, according to a news release from Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson.
Mack is under supervision at a hospital, in stable condition, and Shaw is in custody, according to Jazzlyn Johnson, spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office. Both women are held under $75,000 bonds, according to the press release.
On Saturday, April 25, at approximately 11:33 a.m., Kansas City police officers were dispatched to the intersection of Independence Avenue and Chestnut Trafficway, according to the probable cause affidavit describing the charges. The shooting occurred at a smoke shop, identified as Lit Smoke Shop.
The shop’s surveillance video showed Mack and Shaw screaming as they entered the business, documents say. An employee began to push the women toward the door. The pair allegedly began to swing their “hands and fists at him,” which the employee countered with swings of his own, according to court documents.
“ASHLEY then gestures what appears to be a firearm toward [redacted] as he backs up toward the store. [redacted] pulls out a firearm and shoots toward ASHLEY,” the charging documents said.
Mack then fell to the ground and video footage allegedly showed Shaw picking up an object and shooting into the business with employees inside, according to the affidavit. Someone inside the store allegedly shot back.
Officers found what appeared to be four bullet holes next to the front door and in the glass display case, according to court documents. Eight casings and three rounds were located in the business’ parking lot and entrance area, records show.
In addition, a bullet hit the front passenger window frame of a pickup truck passing by with three people inside, according to court documents.
Mack was shot in the abdomen, pelvis and thigh, and Shaw drove her to University Health, where Mack was taken to an operating room in critical condition, according to the affidavit.
The employee who shot towards Shaw and Mack told officers the pair had been banned from multiple stores on Independence Avenue because they came to shops and then called their brother, “causing the situation to escalate,” the affidavit said.
Jazzlyn Johnson, spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office, said the employee has a valid self-defense claim.
Shaw told investigators she was driving Mack to a job interview when Mack got a phone call from their brother, who said they were banned from the smoke shop, according to the affidavit. The pair then went to the business anyway, records show.
