Thread: 3 teens shot near mayor during late-night mayhem

3 teens shot near mayor during late-night mayhem in Kansas City; officials call for 9 pm teen curfew



Kansas City officials want to crack down on teenage hellraisers that have overrun an upscale mall after a gunman took pot shots as the city's mayor spoke to a group there, wounding three.

Mayor Sly James' bodyguards tackled him into a flower bed outside a restaurant at the Country Club Plaza as five or six bullets ripped into the crowd about 11 p.m. Saturday, the Kansas City Star reported.

The mayor, who was not harmed, had been talking to local teens about recent late-night violence at the outdoor Missouri plaza when the gunman opened fire.

A 15-year-old girl and two boys, one 13 and the other 16, were wounded in the brazen shooting, police said.

The girl's face was grazed by a bullet; the two boys each suffered a leg wound. All three were hospitalized and are expected to recover. Police did not release their names, the paper reported.

James called the incident a "bizarre and surreal set of circumstances" and vowed to control the teenage troublemakers who cause mayhem at the plaza at night.

"We can't have mobs of kids gathering and shooting other kids on public streets," James said Sunday.

Business owners have asked for a 9 p.m. curfew to be enforced at the plaza, but James was lukewarm on the idea.

"We can't expect that imposing a curfew is going to stop some 15-, 16-, 17-year-old from bringing a gun to anywhere," he told the Star.

Kansas City requires teens under 18 to be off the streets by 11 p.m. on weekdays and by midnight on weekends.

Shopkeepers and city officials began calling for the curfew to be enforced at an earlier hour after some 900 teens ran wild at the plaza on a warm April night, the Star reported.

One couple from Grandview, Mo., was beaten and robbed, and a girl in a prom dress was tossed into a fountain, the paper reported.

Reports of vandalism, assaults and fighting flooded the local police department, leading officers to use pepper spray as they tried to reign in the mob.

But the plaza continues to be a hangout for crews of teens looking for trouble.

"This isn't the first time. There have been multiple shootings," Lydia Wade, 19, an employee at Cold Stone Creamery at the plaza, told the Star after Saturday's incident.

Calls for an earlier curfew in Kansas City followed reports that cops in Philadelphia arrested more than 60 teens on Friday and Saturday for violating the city's new 9 p.m. curfew.

pcaulfield@nydailynews.com



Read more: 3 teens shot near mayor during late-night mayhem in Kansas City; officials call for 9 pm teen curfew

Originally Posted by KelJu

Some idiot just fired random shots into a crowd and almost killed a 13 year old. As usual, WTF are you talking about?

i didn't read the article and was assuming it was during a flashmob and someone said enough of this bullshit which is probably what i'd do if in that situation....i can definitely see it happening soon though...we had the state riot in milwaukee last week.....philly is having a big problem too.....