At least three dead and five injured at early morning shootings in Kansas City, Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — At least three people have been found dead, and at least five others are thought to be injured, police in Missouri said while investigating two shootings with multiple victims in the same area of Kansas City early Sunday morning.

Officers were called to the intersection of 57th Street and Prospect Avenue just after 4:30 a.m. when they found three shooting victims — two men and one woman — dead in a parking lot and in the street, the Kansas City Police Department said in a news release.

Police were told that five other shooting victims with injuries that were not life-threatening arrived at various hospitals by private vehicles or ambulance, the department said. “Preliminary information indicates there was a large gathering of people in a parking lot at the intersection when the victims were shot,” the department said.

The investigation indicates the gathering took place outside an auto mechanic shop that is known to host informal after hours gatherings, though there is not a licensed club, bar or restaurant at that location, police spokesperson Jake Becchina said in an email.

Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas posted on Twitter, “My condolences to the families of three people killed in a shooting this morning at an apparent after-hours gathering near 57 and Prospect. If the business knew persons would be present, without security, selling alcohol, and thwarting our laws, that business should be closed.”

There were no immediate arrests, Becchina said. He added that police also responded to a nearby shooting on Prospect Avenue near 31st Street around 3 a.m. where at least one person suffered life-threatening injuries.