KCK police fatally shot man holding ‘metal object’; spoon found near his body
A 27-year-old man died after he was shot by a Kansas City, Kansas, police officer during a struggle outside an apartment early Thursday, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
Police said the man ran toward them holding a “metal object.” A metal spoon was found near his body after the shooting, the KBI said in a news release.
The man was identified as Jesse Fitzgeral of Kansas City, Kansas, the KBI said.
A woman called 911 about 5 a.m. Thursday requesting assistance with a disturbance involving her son in their apartment at the Concord Square Apartments in the 1400 block of North 78th Place in Kansas City, Kansas.
Officers met with the woman and then spotted Fitzgeral outside the apartment in an SUV. Officers tried to question him, but he drove off, according to the KBI.
At about 6 a.m., the woman called 911 again, requesting officers. Two officers responded and when they arrived they saw the SUV from earlier. The vehicle’s engine was running, but the SUV was unoccupied, the KBI said.
When the officers went to the door to check on the caller, Fitzgeral allegedly ran out of the apartment toward the officers, holding a “metal object.” During a brief struggle, one of the officers fired, striking Fitzgeral, the KBI said.
Life-saving measures were attempted, but Fitzgeral died from his injuries. Neither officer was injured.
A woman at the apartment complex who identified herself as the mother of the man who was killed told The Star that her son had been shot right in front of her in the stairwell, but declined to comment further. Other residents of the complex said they had heard a single shot and then saw a large law enforcement presence in the area early Thursday.
Carmen Moore, a resident of an apartment near where the man was shot, said she thought the man lived in the building.
“The guy, I’ve seen him, he used to sit out here, mind his own business,” she said. “I’ve never seen him do anything.”
“I was laying in my bed and I heard somebody talking, and I heard somebody say, ‘Sit down’ or something like that, either sit down or calm down,” she said of Thursday morning’s events. “And the next thing I know, I heard a shot.”
Kevin Bailey, a resident of a building near the shooting site, said he walked out on his deck early Thursday, heard a commotion and then the lone gunshot. Soon, a swath of law enforcement officers swarmed the area.
Although the shooting occurred around 6 a.m., information that a Kansas City, Kansas, police officer was involved in a deadly shooting was not released until 2:40 p.m.
The killing is the city’s 10th homicide of the year, according to data tracked by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings. That compares to eight homicides by this time last year.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS (8477)
This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 3:42 PM.
