The Kansas City MetroRegion Overnight News and Weather Report - Saturday, August 11, 2007

** THE GUNS OF MID-AMERICA ABLAZE OVERNIGHT **

*** There is at least one man dead and 4 injured in separate shootings in the Metro overnight.

* The fatality is reported at 6th Street and Armstrong in KC-KS.. Police found a car crashed into a tree with the male driver dead of at least 2 gunshot wounds around 4am Saturday morning.

Witnesses reportedly told police it was a running gunfight between the suspect and "several" occupants of a blue car. They say both cars were hit- and police were checking area hospitals for additional victims.

Unknown yet if related- but KC-MO police reported "one of four occupants" of a car arrived at a local trauma center with a gunshot wound about 4:20 am.. That victim was "shot in the leg."

* Around 3:30 am- a male gunshot victim apparently made it as far as the 1400 block of Admiral Boulevard before he collapsed. He was taken to an area hospital with critical injuries- and witnesses told police the shooting happened "a few blocks east" of where the victim ended up.

* Just before 1 am- Grandview-MO police responded to the 11900 block of Blue Ridge Extention on a shooting. There they found a 55-year-old male who'd been shot in the shoulder- possibly during the course of a street robbery. The victim was whisked off to a trauma center and police were looking for the suspect: "a young- short- black male- about 110 pounds with braids...."

* A shooting victim was found at Independence Avenue and Indiana about 12:10 am.. This victim was also shot in the shoulder- but no suspect information was immediately available.

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** Cass County- MO Crash Critically Injures A Female **

... The call for this incident came in right around 2 am for a single vehicle rollover on C Highway south of Peculiar.

One female occupant was found barely responsive- and was flown to an area hospital by helicopter.

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** KC-KS Fire Severely Damages Home **

... A house fire at 8th Street and Vermont required 6 KC-KS Fire department companies just before 3 am..

The back side of a lived-in house was heavily-involved in flames when firefighters arrived. The occupants had escaped uninjured. The fire was out about 15 minutes later with no injuries.

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** KC-MO Police Chase Drunk Around Cliff Drive **

... A KC-MO police officer who still at the scene of the Independence Ave. & Indiana shooting observed the male driver of a "F-150" pickup driving erratically.

After an about 10 minute pursuit around streets in the Northeast area- the driver crashes his vehicle into a tree on the embankment above Cliff Drive at Gladstone Boulevard and takes off down the hill.

It takes almost 2 hours- four companies of firefighters- MAST- plus at least half-dozen police- to get to the man on the steep bluff who was apparently injured in the crash and haul him away.

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<><><> OVERNIGHT WEATHER <><> <>

It was one of the warmest overnights of 2007.

Temperatures in urban areas remained at or just above 80 degrees at dawn with virtually calm winds and high humidities. Skies remained mostly clear.

Today will be another one of the hottest days of the year- with temperatures in the upper 90's by late afternoon. An area of thunderstorms in central Kansas may provide relief with cloud cover- keeping high temperatures down.

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First with Metro Kansas City Breaking News - NBC41 ACTION NEWS.
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