KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Highway Patrol says Kansas City police shot and killed a man who drove toward officers at a gas station on Sunday night.
Investigators say officers responded to a Phillips 66 gas station at East 55th Street and Prospect Avenue to investigate a report of a stolen vehicle just before 10 p.m. Officers initially found the vehicle unoccupied.
According to police, the suspect came out of the convenience store, got into the vehicle and accelerated toward an officer, forcing them to dive out of the way.
The suspect then hit a Kansas City Police Department van. Officers shot at the man, striking him, the highway patrol said. He was declared dead at a hospital. No officers were hurt.
The highway patrol is investigating the shooting, and the KCPD officers involved in the shooting are on administrative leave. Officials have not shared any surveillance video or body camera video yet, but authorities said it is a part of their investigation.
The man shot and killed hasn’t been identified yet.
“Anytime when there’s violence in your community, there’s a high level of concern — not just for law enforcement but for the community at large,” MSHP Sgt. Bill Lowe said.
But some people who live nearby are skeptical, saying they heard the shots.
“They shot that car over 16 times. Guys said they heard it all the way over in Vineyard Gardens,” one neighbor said.
“I just feel — ’cause, from the way I saw it — they jumped behind the truck, and they lit it up. They lit that truck up, and that was just too much. That was overkill to me,” he said.
Others question how the situation escalated so quickly and feel that pieces of the story are missing.
“First of all, was it necessary? It was a stolen car. It wasn’t like you done robbed a bank or murdered someone,” another neighbor said.
“So was it worth that or was it just the easy way out for the officers?” she said.
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