KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Police are investigating a fatal shooting near an elementary school. So far, investigators do not know the motive.
“I just can’t believe, so close to a school, they would do a shooting,” said Bolanda Nino, whose son attends M.E. Pearson Elementary School. “I mean, it doesn’t make any sense.”
Outside Pearson Elementary, little ones leaving school met nervous parents and a crime scene. Around 3 p.m. Monday, a gunman opened fire on two Hispanic teens. Police say the victims were walking. It’s possible the suspects were in a late model, black Chevy Tahoe or Suburban.
One of the shooting victims, 14-year-old Ricardo Zamora of Kansas City, Kan., died at an area hospital.
The shooting happened a few feet from the school. The shots rang out less than an hour before the dismissal bell.
“I was nervous as soon as I saw all the police here and everything,” Nino said. “So, I just started making phone calls finding out what was going on.”
Witnesses say both victims were standing in a yard outside 1120 Splitlog. The residents there say they do not know the victims. Police have three people of interest whom detectives interviewed. But, at this point, a motive is unclear.
“It’s terrifying to know it’s happened so close to the school,” said another parent who did not want to be identified.
If parents feel like students dodged a bullet, they should talk to the people living across the street. A bullet crashed through one family’s front screen door.
“There was a baby right there behind the door and the baby, by the mercy of God, did not get shot,” said Reverend Luis Matos of Iglesia Canon.
Matos is the family’s pastor. He showed up to help clam their fears. But, much like the parents at Pearson Elementary, their anxiety will not go away until they know for sure the gunman is off the streets.
“What’s going on around our life that the criminals are running around shooting and they don’t care that we’re in front of a school,” Matos said.
Police continue to look for that late model, black Chevy Tahoe or Suburban witnesses saw leave the scene. Anyone with information should call the police TIPS Hotline (816) 474-TIPS or
submit an anonymous tip online.
