INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – A 16-year-old boy was shot in the leg inside the Independence Center on Thursday night, causing the mall to close for the rest of the night.
Law enforcement officers from various jurisdictions – including Independence, Kansas City, Missouri and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department – responded to the incident, according to the Independence Police, which is handling the investigation.
An altercation between two groups of people preceded the shooting, according to police officer John Syme, a spokesman for the Independence Police Department.
Police detained someone else at the scene and were looking for other people involved in the initial strife, Syme said.
“We are looking for others involved,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that they are suspects or victims. It just means that they are involved in some way in the incident. They may have seen something. They may have been there directly a part of it too.”
The Independence Police Department confirmed the shooting in a Facebook post at around 6 pm, asking the public to stay away from the Independence Center.
The mall closed overnight.
“The police were working on security off duty and heard shots,” the Independence police said in a Facebook post. “He located a target shot in the leg and provided medical assistance to save lives. The guy, a 16-year-old man, was transported to a hospital in the area. Another guy was arrested.”
The shooting allegedly near Dick’s Sporting Goods, which is located on the west side of the shopping center, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Off-duty officers applied “some” tourniquets to the teen victim’s leg to stop the bleeding before she was taken to a nearby hospital.
Police will analyze the mall’s security footage as part of the investigation.
Independence Center has been in the news recently after large-scale struggles led city leaders to impose a curfew in unaccompanied minors near the mall and other shopping centers along this corridor.
Several young people were arrested after several hundred teenagers caused problems, including a handful of fights, in late October.
Finally 10 people were arrested last weekend after another series of disturbances.
Companies in the area have been adjusting to curfew amid the increase in incidents at the mall, which was rescued from the on the verge of a foreclosure sale in February 2018 by Pacific Retail Capital Partners.
–
For jurisdictions that use the Greater Kansas City Crime Tips Hotline, anonymous tips can be obtained from calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), sending the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available at 41 Action News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read 41 Action News Mug photo policy.