Residents urge KCPS to move bus stop after violence in area

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Parents voiced their concerns to KCTV Wednesday after a fatal shooting took place near a school bus stop.

The violent act occurred at 56th and Jackson streets in the afternoon, resulting in a man being shot to death in his front yard.

It happened in broad daylight and at the same corner, near the same time that David Colon’s 7-year-old son was being dropped off after attending Banneker Elementary School.

“This was really crazy. I mean, the guy literally got killed on the same corner where they dropped off my son,” Colon said. “And this is not the first time it’s happened either. I mean, there’s been problems with that corner for a long time.”

Neighbors have reported several instances of gun violence in the area. One of them, Donna Cage Cupit believes there have been at least a few shootings in the past few months.

“Move the bus, move it. I don’t want nobody’s kid to get hurt because of somebody doing something stupid,” Cupit said. “I want everybody’s kid to be safe.”

Moving the bus stop to 55th and Jackson, like Colon and at least one other parent want to do, is not as easy as it sounds. It’s only one block away, but KCPS said there are multiple considerations that determine a bus stop.

As of Wednesday evening, Colon’s son had to get off at the unsafe bus stop.

KCPS told KCTV5 in emails that bus stop locations are picked based on “bus stops have to stay within the guidelines of being a two-block walk or less for our students, along with safety in relation to traffic, sidewalk access, and corner safety. These factors all taken together mean that our bus stop locations are chosen very specifically and methodically.”

The school district said the process of changing a bus stop should begin with a request to the school’s principal. Colon tried to do that on Tuesday but was told to contact the transportation department.

Colon said parents of students using this bus stop have already made that request and are waiting to hear back.

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