3 dead in morning shootings in Missouri

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

Officers were called to the intersection of 57th Street and Prospect Avenue just after 4:30 am 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 non-life-threatening injuries arrived at various hospitals by private vehicles or ambulance.

"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 indicated the gathering took place outside an auto mechanic shop 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.

Nearby incident

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 am, where at least one person suffered life-threatening injuries.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas wrote 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."

At midnight on Saturday in Saginaw, Michigan, a 51-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man were slain and a dozen others wounded during a shooting at a large street party that was promoted on social media, state police said.

Police initially said about 200 people were in the area of the party and that officers had been dispersing the crowd prior to the shooting, news site MLive reported.

Three people were struck by cars and were injured, as people quickly fled from the gunshots, WNEM-TV reported. Investigators determined five different guns had been fired in the shooting.

No arrests have been made so far.

Agencies Via Xinhua