KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A police spokesperson said officers aren’t accustomed to seeing violent crime in the Woodbridge neighborhood where at least three people were killed in a shooting Tuesday afternoon. Neighbors there say they can’t imagine how a deadly shooting could happen in their own neighborhood.
In addition to the fatalities already confirmed, two more people were hospitalized with critical injuries. Residents FOX 4 spoke with say while they didn’t expect the violence, they now want answers.
A stretch of Wornall Road at Woodbridge was filled with concerned people Tuesday afternoon.
Many of them either live in the Woodbridge neighborhood, or have loved ones who do. Kathy and Harold Hurst are brother and sister-in-law and were coming to visit Harold’s mother, Lorrane.
When they arrived the street was filled with police and they couldn’t make contact with Lorrane on the phone.
“I got a call from my brother, and he told us all these police were around here,” Kathy said. “When I see the tape so close to her house, she’s 88 years old, and she’s sharp, but we heard there were some shootings, so we don’t know what to think right now.”
The Hursts were later asked to visit with police at its nearby command post. One neighbor told me this community is so quiet that police don’t even look for speeders. He said that’s why it comes as such a shock that the fatal shooting has happened in his backyard. Some people that were also close to the shooting scene were playing golf at Blue Hills Country Club.
“I was on the range and saw the helicopters, all hell broke loose. We saw so many vehicles, it’s just sad,” said Bubba Johns.
Police believe the suspect stole one of the victim’s vehicles, a 2002 beige Toyota Highlander SUV with Missouri license plate number KC5-A4X.
KCPD Sergeant Kari Thompson said the department worked quickly to secure the scene as the search for the suspects continues.
“We are very concerned. We want people to be safe. We want them to feel safe in their neighborhoods. That’s why we worked so quickly and diligently to get out here and make this scene secure,” Sgt. Thompson said.
Anyone with information about the vehicle or the crime is urged to call 911 or the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS.
