Off-duty KCFD firefighter dies following shooting at Independence gas station

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INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV) - The Kansas City Fire Department is mourning a loss of one of their own after a shooting at an Independence gas station near the border of Kansas City, Missouri.

Independence Police Department spokesman Officer Jack Taylor said officers were dispatched to the Road Star gas station, at the corner of US 40 Highway and Sterling Avenue, at about 2:30 this afternoon. They found a man near death. An ambulance was ordered, but he was declared dead upon arriving at the hospital.

Kansas City Fire Department spokesman Jason Spreitzer confirmed the man who was shot and killed was a firefighter with the department who was off duty at the time.

Police have released few details on what led up to the shooting.

A witness who works at the business but did not to use her name out of fear said the firefighter was in the store behind another man, who she said was hassling the clerk. The firefighter, she said, told him not to be disrespectful and to leave the store. She said the two men started fist fighting outside. Then, a woman who seemed to the know the first man pulled out a gun, told the two to stop fighting and shot the firefighter.

That witness speaks primarily Spanish. A KCTV5 staff member translated.

“It’s sad to see because the man died at the feet of many people. It was just lunchtime. The peak hour. And, the man fell at the feet of many people. He requested help, but nobody wanted to put themselves at risk to get involved to help him,” she said. “I imagine the firefighter has a family just the same as everyone. So, my condolences to the family. I’m very sorry because we would have wanted to help.”

She said she and the others feared that, if they stepped in, they too would have been killed.

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