Pair sought in Kan. shooting that killed 4
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — One week after he had angrily barged into a small neighborhood bar, seething and belligerent, the man returned, cursing and shouting about gangs. He threw a plastic cup at a bartender who refused to serve him, witnesses said, and fought with a customer before he was escorted out, just as he had been the week before.
But two hours later, in the predawn darkness of Sunday morning, he and another man stormed back in and opened fire on the crowd, authorities and witnesses said, killing four people, wounding five others and shattering the sense of safety this tight-knit Latino community felt inside Tequila KC, a bar that for many served as an extension of their living rooms.
Both gunmen left the scene before police arrived, and no arrests were made Sunday in connection with the attack, which occurred shortly before 1:30 a.m. and sent dozens of panicked patrons into the street.
Hours later, traces of blood remained on the sidewalk.
“This is a community bar,” said Jose Valdez, 39, who was working as a bartender when the shots began. “Here, everybody knows everybody.”
On Sunday evening, police released images from the bar’s surveillance video that showed two men wearing baseball jerseysand asked for help identifying them.
All of the victims were Latino men, said the police spokesman, Thomas Tomasic. Two were in their 20s, one was in his 30s and the other was in his 50s, he said.
The injured, who range in age from 20s to 50s, were taken to four nearby hospitals, and two were released with minor injuries, authorities said.
On Sunday morning, family, friends and regulars gathered outside Tequila KC. They exchanged teary-eyed embraces and shook their heads in disbelief. Valdez, the bartender, stood across the street, his arms folded. A gold crucifix hung from his neck. His voice cracked and his eyes were watery. “It’s terrible,” he said. When the gunman walked in late Saturday night, Valdez said, he remembered him from the previous week and refused to serve him. One customer, watching the man’s belligerent behavior, was immediately uncomfortable.
“My intuition’s telling me to go ahead and leave,” said Shay Celedon, 37. “And I left.”
A couple of hours later, Valdez said he saw the man return with someone else and sensed that something terrible was going to happen. The man pointed a gun, and Valdez said he immediately pressed an emergency switch beneath the bar and took cover with another bartender under a sink.
Valdez was on the phone with 911 as the sound of gunfire echoed in the bar, and stayed under the sink until police arrived.
“I’m just praying that they don’t shoot me,” he said. “Don’t come behind the bar and try to really aim and kill people.”
Tomasic said Tequila KC is registered as a private club, meaning patrons have to be members to enter. Private clubs are required to maintain a log of who enters, he said, but it is unclear whether Tequila KC kept one.
Patrons said the bar was open to the community. It is a small but lively scene, a dim space bathed in flashing neon lights where cocktails sell for $3.50 and premium beers for $4. Large flat-screen televisions hang on the walls and draw big crowds when Latino boxers headline matches. The bar does not serve food, but people often bring home-cooked meals to celebrate special occasions.
“We have no problems here, no problems at all,” Valdez said Sunday, shaking his head in disbelief.