Why the fuck does some asshole feel compelled to go into my Target and shoot at people?

[Telly Savalas]

Fuck the gun culture.

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. What was the deal?

I am just now hearing this on the news. Not many details yet. My best friend works there. I can't get ahold of her.

[Telly Savalas]

2. I'm still not clear on it myself.

There was an incident around Bannister on the east side of town where a police officer was shot by this guy, then somehow he made his way to the Ward Parkway Center. From what I heard, it sounds like he entered from the State Line side, shooting up the windows at that Starbucks as he entered, and then made his way towards the Target. In the process he shot a few people, some of whom died, then the police shot and killed him. This all happened around 3 or 4 PM. There's a thread on it in LBN.

One thing I did hear on the news is that the entire area is considered a crime scene, so people aren't even allowed to move their cars from the lot. So if you're trying to get a hold of your friend on a home land-line, she might not have been able to make it back home yet due to this. Or alternately, she might be with the police giving a statement as a witness. Of the hundreds and hundreds of people there, I believe only about 7 or so people got shot, so I'd assume that she was held up in the mess before considering the worst case scenario. So try not to worry --- easier said than done, I know.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. I think someone would have called me by now if she was hurt

Thanks for the details.

You know Ward Parkway is a scary shopping center. Lots of crime there that goes unreported. And very poor security. I like the Sprint store there and I go visit my friend. Otherwise, I wouldn't go there often. There's a Target right by my house.

[Telly Savalas]

4. That Target is my go-to big box store.

I'm pretty sure it's the closest one to where I live. I was actually there twice yesterday -- once with my daughter.

The rest of the center I tend to avoid. It's a really poorly designed pubic space, being all disconnected and what not. I'm not surprised to hear there's a fair share of crime there. (Although to go off on a tangent, Ward Parkway itself is a poorly designed public space. You got all those beautiful ornate fountains like the one around 63rd street, but the area is so pedestrian-unfriendly the only people who can enjoy them are the ones zooming by at 40 MPH.)

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. It's a great street to protest on

We are there every Tuesday at 63rd Street. :) And I don't find it pedestrian unfriendly at all. The grassy median is great for pedestrians and we see lots of people walking dogs there while we protest every week. We used to play touch football there when I was a kid.

I know what you mean about the shopping center. It is really poorly designed. My friend also has lots of bad stories. A 90 year old woman was mugged right in front of her store a few months ago. Broad daylight. Media came but no one aired the story. The lady broke her hip when she was attacked.

Also, last Christmas (2005) my friend found a paper glued to her windshield in the lot. She still had her Kerry sticker on her car and someone had glued this paper to her windshield that said the election was over, bush had won and it was time for her to remove her sticker and support the president. Security had to use some kind of special chemical to get it off her windshield. There were a bunch of cars in the lot, all with Kerry stickers, that had the stickers on them. That's when she found out there were no surveillance cameras in the lot or anywhere in the shopping center.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Some local blogs with info:

Two people very close to me were at Ward Parkway Shopping Center when Sunday's terrible events transpired. They were completing a transaction at T.J. Maxx when they saw police rushing by the store's exterior windows. The pair retreated to the back of the store. They'd spend the next ninety minutes there during a lockdown. I'm told that the T.J. Maxx staff were exceptionally gracious hosts. The store sells food items, which were opened and offered to the approximately 100 captive customers. The staff also passed out cups of water drawn from the employee cooler. The store manager shared official updates from the police over the store's intercom. Police eventually interviewed each customer before escorting them individually to their vehicles. My people were parked about 25 yards away from the shooter's car.

http://happyinbag.blogspot.com/2007/04/what-if-at-ward-parkway.html

And the official police report:

The official KCPD statement: Officers were called Sunday, April 29th, at about 149 pm to the 3700 block of East 93rd street to check the welfare of an elderly woman. When the officers arrived, they discovered a dead woman inside the home. Officers were also told the woman's car was missing. The officers put out a description of the woman's car.

At about 311 pm, an officer on patrol saw the vehicle that was reported missing from the woman's home. The officer stopped the car at 1311 Bannister road. When he stopped the car, the driver began shooting at the officer. The officer returned fire but was struck in the arm by one of the gunman's shots. The officer put out a description of the vehicle to officers. It is unknown if any of the officer's shots struck the man. He was transported to an area hospital for treatment. He was treated and released. The officer is 44 years old and has been with the department since January 1992.

At about 327 pm, we received a call regarding an outside disturbance with shots fired at the Ward Parkway mall, 8600 Ward Parkway. While on the way to the call, the officers received information that a man was inside the mall with a long gun. Officers from Kansas City and Leawood, along with security from the mall, confronted the man inside the common area of the mall. During this confrontation, the man was shot to death by the officers. It is believed the dead man is the one who shot the officer on Bannister road. His vehicle was found in the parking lot. Additionally, two people were found shot to death on each side of the vehicle the man was driving.