(KANSAS CITY) — A shooting that erupted Sunday morning in a Kansas City, Missouri, parking lot killed at least three people and left five others injured, according to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
The violence unfolded about 4:30 a.m. southeast of downtown Kansas City, Jackson County Sheriff Darryl Forte tweeted Sunday morning.
Forte said officers were called to investigate a report of gunfire and found three victims, two men and a woman, dead in the parking lot and on a street just south of the intersection of 57th Street and Prospect Avenue.
No arrests were immediately announced, and a motive was under investigation.
Five other people were taken to hospitals by ambulance or private vehicles, all suffering from what are believed to be non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, Forte said.
Preliminary evidence, according to Forte, indicates there was a large gathering of people in a parking lot at the intersection when the shooting broke out.
Detectives and crime scene investigators were interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence at the crime scene.
A $25,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the suspect or suspects involved in the shooting.
The triple homicide came amid a 28% increase in homicides in Kansas City this year, according to Kansas City Police Department crime statistics. Prior to this weekend, Kansas City police had investigated 91 homicides this year, up 20 from the same time last year, according to the statistics.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucus posted a message on Twitter Sunday, expressing his condolences to the families of those killed and questioning why a crowd was gathered in a parking lot at the time of the shooting.
My condolences to the families of three people killed in a shooting this morning at an apparent after-hours gathering near 57 and Prospect. If the business knew persons would be present, without security, selling alcohol, and thwarting our laws, that business should be closed.
“If the business knew persons would be present, without security, selling alcohol, and thwarting our laws, that business should be closed,” Lucus tweeted.
Lucus said a total of 13 people were shot in Kansas City overnight, including a person slain at a short-term vacation rental.
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