Updated: Police Arrest 1 of 2 Wanted in Deadly Kansas Bar Shooting
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police have identified two suspects in a Kansas bar shooting that left four people dead and five others wounded. Police in Kansas City, Kansas, announced early today (MON) that 23-year-old Javier Alatorre was arrested Sunday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri, while 29-year-old Hugo Villanueva-Morales is still at large. Both men have been charged with four counts of first-degree murder. Authorities had said the two men had apparently gotten into some sort of disagreement with people inside Tequila KC Bar, left, then returned with handguns early Sunday. Around 40 people were inside the small bar when gunfire erupted around 1:30 am.
Police say four men were killed. Their names weren't immediately released. It's unclear whether Alatorre has a lawyer to comment on his behalf. Police say Villanueva-Morales is considered "armed and dangerous."
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(Earlier reporting)
Police Search for 2 Men in Kansas City, Kansas, Bar Shooting that Killed 4
By Heather Hollingsworth / Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Two men opened fire inside a bar in Kansas City, Kansas, early Sunday, killing four people and wounding five others in a shooting believed to have stemmed from an earlier dispute, police said.
Authorities were searching Sunday for the two gunmen, said Officer Thomas Tomasic, a police spokesman. He said the two men had apparently gotten into some sort of disagreement with people inside Tequila KC Bar, left, then returned with handguns. "We think there was something that happened in the bar earlier probably," Tomasic said. "Unfortunately, they left and decided to take it to another level, came back and started shooting."
Around 40 people were inside the small bar when gunfire erupted around 1:30 am, Tomasic said. The gunfire sent people running for the exits, with the injured leaving trails of blood as they fled. One of the injured was trying to get a ride to the hospital when ambulances arrived. "It's a pretty small bar, so if you have two guys come in and start shooting, people are just running, running anywhere they can," Tomasic said.
All four men who were killed were Hispanic, but Tomasic said authorities do not believe the shooting was racially motivated. The shooting happened in a neighborhood with a large Hispanic population.
Tomasic cautioned that police were still investigating exactly what happened. He said they were reviewing surveillance video and interviewing witnesses while looking for the gunmen. "Obviously being a bar at 1:30, stories vary a lot," he said.
Among the dead was one man in his late 50s, another in his mid-30s and two in their mid-20s, police said. Authorities did not immediately release their names.
However, Juan Ramirez, of Kansas City, Kansas, told The Kansas City Star that his 29-year-old nephew was among those killed. He said his nephew left behind a 6-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter. "I don't wish this upon anybody," Ramirez said.
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