Gunfire Erupts at Independence Center, Four Injured
A shootout at Independence Center on Friday afternoon left four people injured, one of them critically, police said.
The incident took place around 2:20 p.m., with one person in critical condition and three others sustaining injuries ranging from non-life-threatening to serious.
According to Jack Taylor, a spokesperson with the Independence Police Department, three people of interest are in custody after being stopped on East 39th Street S as they attempted to drive away.
The police were initially dispatched to the mall after receiving a report of shots fired. The shooting occurred in the breeze way located at the entrance from East 39th Street S, Taylor said.
Investigation efforts have revealed that the shooting involved two groups of people, although officials are uncertain of their interactions or relations to each other. It remains unclear what led to the violence.
Eyewitness accounts provide chilling insights into the panic and chaos caused by the shooting. “I look up and I see people closing their doors and stuff,” said Nick Stephens, who was in the food court at the time of the incident. “And I’m like, oh yeah, that’s when it’s serious, like people running, people closing their doors. I look over at my brother, and I’m just like, ‘Yeah, we gotta go, we gotta go.’ And so we get up, he grabbed everything, I grabbed everything, and we tried to get out of there.”
Another witness, Chris Stephens, who was in the mall with his brother Nick at the time of the shooting, shared, “You know, I heard it through my headphones, and I have noise canceling, so that gives you an idea how loud it was.”
The situation was reported as stable by the police, who have set up a pickup location at the car wash located at the northeast corner of the mall.
The story is developing, and updates will be provided as details emerge.