‘This is out of control’: In DC to address gun violence, mayor reacts to Westport shooting

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Kansas City’s mayor and interim police chief were in the nation’s capital Monday morning as part of an event for lawmakers and families affected by gun violence. Back home, the city dealt with a mass shooting outside a Westport bar that left one dead.

“At that bar, we had three off-duty police officers standing right there — security guards — and you still had folks acting with impunity and had a shootout,” Mayor Quinton Lucas told KCTV5. “Our assailants aren’t afraid of risks right now. They’re getting guns far too easily. And we’re not doing anything to ensure there’s some way to get these guns in the wrong people off the street.”

One person died and five others were injured after a disturbance inside the Westport Ale House spilled outside, leading to a shooting, according to law enforcement.

Three off-duty officers who were working at the Ale House returned fire. As of 9 a.m. Monday, it was unclear if the officers hit anyone.

“This is out of control and it’s crazy. And it continues to get worse and worse,” Lucas said.

The mayor said he and interim Chief Joe Mabin were in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act passed on June 25. Lucas expressed much of his frustration is not necessarily with federal support, but actions of the states of Kansas and Missouri.

“What I’m working on in Washington...is to make sure at least on the federal level – unlike what’s happening in Jeff City and Topeka – we have people who are saying gun violence is a very real problem,” he said. “The way to address it is not to allow more guns on our streets in the hands of the wrong people without background checks or permitting and continue to commit offenses like this one who make us afraid to grab a drink on an evening night, go to school, go to hospitals. The problem is getting out of control in our country and sadly Kansas City is a part of that.”

The mayor also took his grievances with Missouri state lawmakers to Twitter:

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