AP: The Latest: Local concerns after Kansas City police kill 3
The Latest on three people killed in a pair of police shootings in Kansas City (all times local):
7:50 a.m.
Authorities say police officers shot and killed three people in less than an hour in Kansas City, Missouri, raising concerns about police tactics.
The Kansas City Star reports that police killed two men who were fighting in a downtown public square, Thursday. The shooting happened after officers killed a woman seen brandishing a sword in a residential area about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away.
A nearby resident, Robert King, questioned why police who shot the women didn’t use tear gas instead of a firearm.
The Rev. Vernon Howard, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, bemoaned the “fatality on top of fatality.”
Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith says the “incidents unfolded protecting other citizens.”
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7:40 a.m.
Police have shot and killed two men who authorities say were fighting over a golf cart and a gun in a public square in downtown Kansas City.
The Kansas City Star reports that the shooting happened shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday in the middle of Barney Allis Plaza. The melee led hundreds of professors and teachers in town for an event at the nearby Kansas City Convention Center to seek shelter in the basement. They were allowed to leave about 30 minutes later after an all-clear was given.
Police Chief Rick Smith says the officers “did what they thought was necessary.” The men’s names haven’t been released.
The shooting is under investigation.
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