2 killed in shooting at business complex in Kansas City’s Sterling Acres: Police
Kansas City police were investigating a double homicide Thursday night after two men were found fatally shot in separate parking lots within the Blue Ridge Crossing shopping center in the Sterling Acres neighborhood.
Around 9:20 p.m., officers were dispatched to a reported shooting on the city’s eastern border with Independence near 42nd Street and Sterling Avenue, said Sgt. Jake Becchina, a department spokesman.
Officers found the first gunshot victim in a vehicle in a parking lot near an IHOP restaurant. A security guard was providing aid when officers arrived, Becchina said, and the gunshot victim was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Additional officers who arrived on scene were directed to a second shooting victim roughly 200 yards away in another parking lot between the Lowe’s hardware store and the Walmart. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Becchina said.
Many details of the shooting remained unclear Thursday, though police believed at least one of the victims was shot in a parking lot. There were no reports of gunshots fired in any of the businesses, Becchina said.
Police did not have a suspect in custody or any suspect information to immediately provide.
Parts of the large shopping complex remained blocked off with police tape Thursday night as crime scene personnel were out collecting evidence and homicide detectives searched for potential witnesses and surveillance video.
An aerial drone supplied by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office was also being used to canvass the area as the scene spanned roughly the size of two football fields, Becchina said.
“Obviously, you have a lot of businesses here. So surveillance cameras or video footage will be definitely something detectives are hopeful for. And it was a little bit later in the night, so there probably wasn’t a lot of vehicle and foot traffic here. But if anybody did see or hear anything (and left the area)… they’re definitely asked to contact detectives,” Becchina said.
The killings marked Kansas City’s 166th and 167th homicides of 2023, according to data maintained by The Star. As of Thursday, the city remains on pace to exceed the number of homicides seen in 2022, which was the second-deadliest in its history with 171 people killed.
Kansas City police were asking anyone with information to contact homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or call the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS.
