Person of interest in deadly KCK Halloween party shooting taken into custody, car recovered

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Police said a person of interest has been taken into custody in connection with a fatal shooting Monday evening.

Officers were called to the area just west of I-635 and south of Metropolitan Avenue just after 9 p.m. for the shooting. According to law enforcement, 70-100 high school-aged people attended a house party via social media invite only, and the homeowners were present. Everyone at the party, other than the homeowners, were teenagers, mostly high school students, according to police.

Some uninvited guests showed up and were asked to leave. They opened fire on the party while leaving.

During that shooting, seven people suffered gunshot wounds. One of those people died. Another was admitted to the hospital and was released Tuesday morning. The five others were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and remained hospitalized, police indicated. The victims’ ages ranged from 15-18.

Daniel Tygart had just finished trick-or-treating with his kids. They were sorting candy when dozens of shots erupted next door.

“We all hit the floor. My youngest and my friend’s youngest were back in the room playing so I dropped to the ground and laid over them until the gunshots stopped,” says Tygart.

When the gunfire ceased, Tygart ran outside to what he describes as pandemonium and jumped into action.

“I yelled at the kids, ‘is anybody hit?’ And kids from everybody said ‘yeah, we got some back here,’” Tygart said. “Then one said, ‘yeah I got hit in the arm,’ so I ran over to him and helped.”

The Wyandotte County District Attorney is urging families in the Turner School District to begin having conversations with their kids.

“Speak to your children. Some may need to see a therapist considering the trauma they experienced. This is not normal and it’s not OK. Get them the help they need,” said Mark Dupree, Wyandotte County district attorney.

KCTV5 learned Tuesday the teen who died in the shooting was a student at Turner High School.

A spokesperson for Turner High School said the students were not in class today because was a professional learning day. When they return on Wednesday, the district mental health team will be meeting with grieving students and there will be an increased police presence on site.

The vehicle police believe was driven by suspects was also recovered, Kansas City, Kansas police said.

Police said they were looking for 4-6 suspects. They were in a costume, including wearing masks, which made a suspect description difficult, KCK police detailed.

Officers did add one suspect is thought to be a man in his early twenties.

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