Celebratory gunfire injures at least 2 in Kansas City as revelers welcome in new year
Two people were injured by celebratory gunfire that erupted across the Kansas City area as revelers welcomed in the new year, police said.
At 1:05 a.m. Monday, a bullet went through the window of a residence in the 7800 block of Ruskin Way, police said. The bullet grazed one person; another person stepped on broken glass from the damaged window. Police said both people were taken to a hospital.
Shortly before that, at 12:30 a.m., police responded to a report of a shooting in the 10500 block of East 42nd Street. Officers said a man had been walking on the sidewalk when he was struck by apparent gunfire. He was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. Police did not say whether the shooting was the result of celebratory gunfire.
From 6 p.m. Sunday to 6 a.m. on New Year’s Day, there were 237 ShotSpotter calls reported and 144 calls regarding sounds of shots fired, Kansas City police said Monday. ShotSpotter is an alert system designed to detect the sound of gunfire.
For years, the Kansas City Police Department has warned of the dangerous trend of people firing guns into the air on some holidays.
This past summer, at least four people were injured by celebratory gunfire on the Fourth of July in Kansas City, according to police. Those incidents included one person being shot in the chest and another struck in the head. The injuries were not life-threatening.
A bill long sought by Missouri lawmakers to increase penalties for acts including celebratory gunfire — named Blair’s Law after 11-year-old Blair Shanahan Lane, who was killed by an errant bullet fired near the Truman Sports Complex on the Fourth of July in 2011 — passed the legislature last session but was vetoed by Gov. Mike Parson.
The governor said he wasn’t opposed to the bill but vetoed it because it was passed as part of a larger crime bill that contained measures he couldn’t support.
The bill has been prefiled for the upcoming legislative session.
