Google Maps Four people were killed and five others wounded in a shooting at the Tequila KC Bar in Kansas City, Kansas.
Four people were killed and five others were wounded when two gunmen opened fire at a bar in Kansas City, Kansas, on October 6, 2019, authorities say. Kansas City Police officials have said the mass shooting is not believed to have been a random incident that stemmed from an earlier altercation. No one has been arrested.
Police have not identified the suspects in the shooting, which occurred at Tequila KC Bar. The victims have also not been named publicly. Investigators remained on scene early Sunday morning and were reviewing surveillance video and talking to witnesses in an effort to identify the shooters, according to the Kansas City Police.
“We do not believe this was random, we believe this was an isolated incident,” Kansas City Police spokesman Thomas Tomasic told reporters at a press conference Sunday morning. “We don’t feel these suspects are going to out and do this again.”
He said there was possibly a dispute inside the bar before the shooting. Tomasic said, “They came inside the bar and started shooting. They weren’t outside. There may have been something inside the bar earlier in the evening that happened. The suspects left and the suspects came back.”
Tomasic said Tequila KC is a private club, meaning people have to be members to be allowed inside. The bar is supposed to keep a list of those who enter the bar each night, but Tomasic said it was not yet clear if Tequila KC had that list.
Here’s what you need to know about the Tequila KC Bar shooting:
1. Police Say People Were Running Out of the Bar When Officers Arrived
On scene near 10th and Central where officers responded to a shooting. 9 total people were shot 4 of the 9 are dead. We are told the suspect entered the bar Tequila KC and started shooting.
Police are still looking for the suspect. @41actionnews
The shooting happened just before 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 6, at the Tequila KC Bar at 10th Street and Central Avenue, police in Kansas City, Kansas, said. According to police, the four victims killed were found dead inside the bar when police arrived. They were all Hispanic males, one who was in his late 50s, one in his mid-30s and two in their mid-20s, according to police.
Police spokesman Thomas Tomasic said, there were “possibly two suspects that entered” the bar and began shooting. Shell casings were found inside the bar, he said. About 40 people were inside the bar.
Police believe a handgun or handguns were used in the shooting, based on the shells found at the scene.
Tomasic said those inside the bar fled as gunfire erupted, with some who were wounded leaving behind trails of blood.
“When we arrived obviously a lot of people were still inside the bar trying to exit, running out,” Tomasic told reporters. “Inside we located four Hispanic males inside the bar deceased. Outside the bar we had five other victims that all sustained gunshot wounds. They were all taken to area hospitals, all in stable condition.”
He said the gunmen are believed to have been involved in some sort of dispute with other patrons at the bar late Saturday evening or early Sunday morning, left the bar and then returned with handguns.
“When they came out they were definitely running,” Tomasic said of the people inside the bar. “You saw the blood down here, there’s blood out there in the street. We had one person that tried to leave in a car that ended up going by ambulance.”
Tomasic said witnesses have told them there were two suspects.
2. No Details About the Suspects Being Sought in the Shooting Have Been Released
Police have not released any details about the suspects in the shooting. A police spokesman said that they have not gathered enough information about the suspected gunmen to make that information public.
“We do not have any specific suspect information yet that we can release, believe there are possibly two suspects that entered back into the bar and began shooting,” Tomasic said. “Do not have a specific motive yet, as far as them coming in targeting specific people or anything, we do not have anything like that.”
He said they have “too many conflicting stories right now,” to put out any suspect information. “We want to try to narrow that down before we put out anything out on that,” he said.
According to ABC News, the gunmen have been described as being Hispanic males. Tomasic said they do not believe the shooting was racially motivated. The bar is frequented by people of Hispanic descent, police said.
3. Two of the Wounded Shooting Victims Have Been Released From the Hospital
KCK police are heavily focused on Tequila KC Bar.
Police said all five victims who were taken to a local hospital were transported in stable condition. At least two of the victims had already been released from the hospital by mid-Sunday morning.
Juan Ramirez, of Kansas City, told The Associated Press his 29-year-old nephew was among those who were killed in the shooting. Ramirez told the AP his nephew left behind a 6-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter. Ramirez said, “I don’t wish this upon anybody.”
He told the Kansas City Star his nephew had “nothing to do with it,” and said their family was “just in shock and disbelief.”
4. Police Responded to an Aggravated Assault Call & an Aggravated Battery Call Near the Tequila Bar Earlier in 2019
I’m at 10th and Central in Kansas City, Kansas, where four people were killed at a shooting in the Tequila KC bar overnight. @KCKPDHQ has collapsed the scene by about a block as they move the investigation into the bar. 1/
According to KSHB-TV, there have been reports of other violent incidents at the Tequila KC Bar in 2019. On Friday, February 2, 2019, officers were called to an aggravated assault, use of a deadly weapon incident. On April 5, 2019, officers responded to a call for an aggravated battery with intentional great harm or disfigurement. Further details about those incidents were not immediately available.
The bar is registered to Lori Leann Gomez and Erik R. Gomez Jimenez of Edwardsville, Kansas, according to the Kansas Secretary of State’s website. It was opened in 2018. Gomez could not be reached for comment by Heavy.
The bar’s Facebook page says it is a “Nice neighborhood bar with homemade micheladas and tasty tacos!” The space was previously occupied by a bar called the Blue Rose.
5. The ATF Responded to the Shooting & Is Assisting the Kansas City Police Department in the Ongoing Investigation Into the Mass Shooting
Federal authorities are at the scene assisting the Kansas City Police Department in the investigation. The ATF tweeted, “Agents from @ATFKansasCity are responding to the shooting scene at 10th and Central in Kansas City, KS.”
Tomasic told reporters investigators were still talking to witnesses and reviewing surveillance video.
“Collecting evidence, we’ve done all our scans, we’re trying to talk to as many witnesses from the bar as we can. Obviously being a bar at 1:30, stories varied a lot, even being inside the bar. So, we’re trying to separate out stories, find the truthful from the maybe exaggerated a little bit and kind of going from there.”
Kansas City Mayor David Alvey told reporters, “My prayers are with the families of the victims … Other than that I don’t have much to say, except that this is sad for all those involved.”