KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Missouri, man is facing charges in connection with firing a shot following a verbal disturbance Saturday, March 14, outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in Overland Park.
An Overland Park police spokesperson said around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, officers were dispatched to the clinic at 4401 W. 109th St. on reports that a verbal disturbance had escalated into an armed disturbance.
The spokesperson said a male and a female had been arguing on the way to the clinic. When they arrived, they encountered a group of protesters.
According to the spokesperson, “the protesters were verbally intervening with the male’s disturbance and female.”
At some point in the altercation, police say the suspect, later identified as Dmarieon Matthews, displayed a gun to the protesters and allegedly pointed it at one of the protesters. Moments later, police allege Matthews turned away from the protesters and fired one shot into the ground.
Matthews returned to the car, where an adult female and two children remained, and drove away.
An Overland Park police officer located the car on the ramp from Roe Boulevard to eastbound Interstate 435 and took Matthews into custody.
On Monday, the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office charged Matthews with one count of felony aggravated assault, two counts of felony aggravated child endangerment and one count of misdemeanor marijuana possession.
Matthews made his first appearance before a judge on Monday afternoon. As of Tuesday morning, he remained in custody at the Johnson County Adult Detention Center on a $50,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is set for March 26.
The police spokesperson said the Planned Parenthood Clinic briefly locked down their facility and stopped all services following the disturbance.
“Above all, we are grateful that everyone is safe. We deeply appreciate the swift response from our on-site security team and local law enforcement, whose actions helped ensure the safety of our staff, patients, and community.
"We are providing support to our staff and volunteers who were on-site Saturday. Our health center remains open and fully operational, and our staff will continue providing compassionate, essential care to our patients.
"Gun violence of any kind is unacceptable and threatens the health, safety, and well-being of the communities we serve. We will continue to work closely with law enforcement as they investigate this incident.”
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