Caught on camera: Waldo car break-in turns into shots fired

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A homeowner is thankful to be alive after thieves broke into a truck and then started shooting.

The shooting happened Monday night in Waldo, near 80th and Jefferson St.

The homeowner gave KCTV5 video of the crime caught by a surveillance camera. The video shows someone walk up to a truck parked in a driveway of a home. The thief opens the truck’s door and rummages through the vehicle. The person then runs away and hops into a getaway car.

The homeowner ran after the car. That’s when a witness said someone in the getaway car started shooting.

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KCTV5 talked to a neighbor who witnessed the terrifying situation. She didn’t want to share her identity for safety reasons.

“That night I got home, and I noticed a car about two houses down,” the witness said.

At first, she said she thought it was an Uber driver.

“After 15 seconds, I realized that’s not an Uber driver; there was a lot of hustle and bustle,” she said. “I made my way to the front door and saw a young gentleman running through the yard. My neighbor’s cab light came on, and I knew then exactly what was happening.”

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She said she ran inside to call her neighbor to tell him what was happening. That’s when, in the video, the thief runs and gets into a car.

The homeowner runs after the car and it ends in gunfire.

“It was just so surreal, and I was shook up. I couldn’t sleep,” she said.

Thankfully, the homeowner wasn’t hit, but the thieves got away with his wallet.

“I’ve always thought this was a safe neighborhood, and now I feel like we have to always be looking over our shoulders and being worried about what’s next, who’s next, what’s going to happen next,” the witness said.

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The witness says she has called Waldo home for decades and said nothing like this has ever happened. But with the recent crime throughout Waldo and Brookside, she said she isn’t surprised.

“I just assumed it was only time before it came to us, and sure enough,” she said.

Kansas City Police want to remind people to never go after thieves.

Dozens of people gathered for community meeting on Wednesday to talk about crime concerns in Waldo and Brookside. City leaders, representatives from the prosecutors’ office and police attended the meeting.

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Police said there will be more patrols in the area and encourage everyone to report any crime, no matter the size.