KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Following a downtown Kansas City, Missouri, shooting that left two people dead and three others injured in August, the city announced collaborative efforts to increase safety in the area.
RELATED | KCPD investigating shooting near 13th & Grand that killed 2 men, injured 3 others
The deadly shooting happened about 4 a.m. on Aug. 24 in a parking lot at East 13th Street and Grand Boulevard.
The city says it's working with commercial real estate agency Copaken Brooks, which owns the parking lot, the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, and Downtown Council.
"Kansas City is committed to ensuring that our downtown is a safe and welcoming place for everyone at all hours," KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a statement on Wednesday. "By strengthening police presence, adding new private security resources, and working alongside private partners like Copaken Brooks, we are taking meaningful action to ensure the safety of all."
The City also is entering into a $100,000 contract to support additional funding for private security downtown, according to a press release from Mayor Lucas.
The agreement is possible through Ordinance 250044.
Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) can apply to the Multidisciplinary Public Safety Task Force for funding for private security. Once CIDs receive the funding, they decide when and how to utilize the security services, according Megan Strickland, the mayor's press secretary.
Copaken Brooks said in the past year the agency has invested in security upgrades at the parking lot. The agency says it recently enhanced lighting, expanded mobile surveillance capabilities, and deployed armed on-site security officers at the 13th and Grand parking site.
The company said next month it will install controlled parking gates to restrict unauthorized access to the lot.
A witness of the Aug. 24 shooting told KSHB 41 News the parking lot was full of cars and people were hanging out in the parking lot when the shooting happened.
The collaborative effort comes as an ordinance introduced by Lucas on Aug. 21 to create safeguards at privately-owned surface parking lots in the city's entertainment districts and Central Business District is on the city council's agenda for Sept. 30.
RELATED | KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas talks proposed ordinance to curb crime in entertainment districts
Following the shooting, KCPD increased and expanded its downtown patrol, according to the press release.
A public information officer (PIO) with KCPD says detectives investigating the killings have made progress in identifying a subject or subjects of interest, but made no arrests yet.
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KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
