KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department spokesman said a paraprofessional at the Plaza Academy suffered non-life-threatening injuries in a shooting Tuesday outside the Westport high school.
KCPD Sergeant. Jake Becchina said officers responded shortly before 12:40 to a reported shooting in the 3900 block of Broadway Boulevard.
Police said a car stopped outside the Plaza Academy, which Becchina said has “50 to 60 children” enrolled, and shot at the instructor, who was transported to an area hospital where he was expected to recover.
The shooting occurred behind the school along Washington Street where he had been helping students return to school.
More shots were fired, but it’s unclear how many times the paraprofessional was shot.
After entering the school and asking someone to call 911, the paraprofessional exited the front of the school.
Arriving officers closed off streets in front of and behind the Plaza Academy, allowing for “the safe release of students” and securing the school from possible threats.
“School administrators followed their protocols and arranged for parent contact and student release to parents once the police secured the surrounding area,” said a KCPD statement.
No students were targeted by the shooter, according to initial investigations, and there was never an attempt to break into the school.
“There is no indication that there was any attempt to enter the school or target anyone inside,” Becchina said.
He added it was “too early to tell” who the suspected shooter was or the circumstances of the shooting, but Becchina said no suspects were in custody and there was no description of a suspicious vehicle.
“It’s something, every time you hear about something like that, your heart skips a beat,” Becchina said. “We are grateful that this victim is well.”
Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to call the KCPD Assault Unit at 816-234-5227 or the Greater Kansas City Crime Tips Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). Calls to the hotline are anonymous, but may earn a cash reward.
