Early Sunday Morning Rolling Gun Battle in Grandview Leaves Motorist With Child "Badly Shaken"

Shootings are not like an imaginary 'boogie-man-' if you ignore them- they just won't go away.

Except for this blog- only one local 'mainstream' news media outlet- KMBC-9 News- reported all three of late Saturday's shootings in the southeast Kansas City-Raytown MO area that wounded at least nine people.

What happened in Grandview around 2:45 am Sunday morning will probably get the same local 'news' treatment...


According to a witness who reported to Grandview police- shots were fired between two vehicles- "an orange (colored) car and a black pickup" truck.

A car belonging to that witness was struck at least once by one of the flying bullets.

Fortunately- the woman or the 4-year-old child in her car wasn't hit.

A GPD officer sees the black pickup possibly involved in the incident around 2:55 am on Main Street east of I-49- and police end up chasing that suspected truck with "two occupants" into a southeast Kansas City MO neighborhood around East 90th Street and Kentucky.

The two people in the truck bailed out and ran- they hadn't been caught as of 3:30 am Sunday.


If Raytown and Grandview were threatened by a severe storm- you can bet the farm Kansas City's news media wouldn't ignore one second of Mother Nature's wrath.

Every citizen is just at risk with the random gun violence in the main Metro city and it's first-ring suburbs- and it's a story that needs to be told everytime it happens.

At Least Eight Shot in a 3-Hour Span in Southeast KC- Raytown MO

The first shooting is reported to have occurred between the occupants of 2 vehicles at Blue Ridge and Gregory Boulevards around 4 pm Saturday afternoon.

One of the shot-up vehicles was found near 74th Street and McKinley in Kansas City.

Two people were reportedly shot- their conditions not known since I wasn't listening.

Both Blue Ridge and Gregory were closed by the Raytown police for several hours for the crime investigation...

Around 6:25 pm- a man was shot outside the McDonald's at 87th Street and Blue Ridge on the KC-MO side of the border of Raytown.

That victim- a male in his 40's- had two bullet wounds according to the EMS radio report I heard.

One GSW to the lower abdomen and another to a leg which struck the femoral artery.

His condition was serious.

The shooter reportedly left westbound on 87th Street in a silver-colored car police said...


Around 6:45 pm- more gunshots permeate the mild late December evening on Eastwood Trafficway west of I-435 in KC-MO..

It happened at or near the Church's Chicken place there- with bullet casings found next door at the Fast Stop convenience store.

At least one victim was confirmed by police with possibly another person shot as well (a 2nd EMS unit was dispatched for "a second victim" but it was our dinnertime).

A seriously-injured male was heard going emergency to a city medical trauma center. 

Later media reports say as many as "6" people were hit by gunfire here- with the other victims showing up at area hospitals.


Some folks must have gotten some ammo for Christmas...

KC-MO: One Killed- At Least 3 Children Hurt in A 1-Vehicle Crash

It happened at 12:27 am at 51st Street and Brooklyn in south-midtown Kansas City MO.




Reportedly- the police had been "following (pursuing)" a white 4-door sedan with one of their helicopters.

The follow/chase reportedly began minutes earlier on 75th Street east of U.S. 71/Bruce Watkins Expressway.




The white sedan contained six occupants- 3 of them children- when the vehicle smashed into a utility pole on 51st Street.

Reports from the scene say "the car was cut in half" by the force of the crash.

The driver was trapped and died almost immediately in the wreckage.


Three children in the car were taken to Children's Mercy Hospital- all males.

One child- possibly an infant- had "a fractured" leg and other serious injuries.

An "approximately 2-year-old" and "a 4-year-old" had relatively minor injuries. Neither of these two boys were in child restraints EMS said.


There were two other emergency medical transports to other hospitals among the five EMS units (ambulances) sent to the scene.


Unknown what precipitated the police pursuit other than traffic charges while we await the official police report on this crash through 7 am Saturday morning.

Major Winter Storm to Affect US Central States

Winter 2013-14 begins tomorrow (Saturday)- and Mother Nature will herald the seasons' arrival with a variety of stormy weather.

Everything from ice- snow to severe thunderstorms with possible tornadoes are expected in our Central States during the next 24-48 hours.


The severe thunderstorms will be limited to southeastern Arkansas into the Tennessee Valley and middle Gulf states on Saturday.


Locally- there is a definite line of snow and ice accumulations that runs across Metro Kansas City.

The heaviest ice accumulations are likely to the south and east and the snow accumulations from the west to northeast parts of the area (see the NWS maps included here).


The ice could accumulate up to a third of an inch- with the bulk of that problem beginning overnight tonight.

The snowfall will come later Saturday afternoon and/or evening- and accumulations could be as high as 8-inches in isolated areas- with a general 4-6-inch depth expected by Sunday morning.


I'm doing my regular weekend overnight shifts for KSHB Action News beginning at 11 pm tonight- so I'll update this situation later....

NFL-AFC Team Standings As of Sunday Evening - Dec. 15 2013

CSW BREAKING: Single-Fatality Crash in Southern Raytown MO

Raytown PD crash investigators are working a single vehicle crash with a fatality at 9700 East 87th Street.


The crash was first dispatched to RPD and EMS at 2:58 am Saturday morning as "a vehicle overturned in the front yard" of the address. 

An officer who arrived at 3:01 am confirms the crash- reports the single occupant- a female- as "a possible fatality." 

The death is confirmed at 3:20 am..

There were no other injuries.


Police says that the victim's vehicle was eastbound on 87th Street at a high rate of speed when the driver lost control and rolled the vehicle- coming to rest in the front yard of a house on the southeast corner of 87th Street and Evanston.

Police later identified the crash victim as 25-year-old Aimee Fletcher of Raytown- our condolences to the victims' family and friends.

CSW BREAKING: 2-Alarm Apartment Fire in Overland Park KS

At 2:16 pm Friday afternoon- a "second alarm" has been dispatched on an apartment building fire at "The Village" Apartments at 7820 Grant Lane in Overland Park.

Unlike the fire earlier this week in the 5600 block of Floyd- today's extra-alarm fire hasn't revealed any injuries.


This fire is generally under control by 2:40 pm..

CSW BREAKING: Multiple-Alarm Fire in Northern Overland Park KS Townhomes

The incident was reported at 12:15 pm Tuesday afternoon at the "Metcalf 56 Townhomes- 5604 Floyd."

Responding fire units could see smoke from some distance away.

Police arrived before fire crews- and reported "people jumping" from a "3-story" building (Google street view images show 2-stories) and that there were "explosions" in the fire building.


At 12:20 pm- a 2nd-alarm was sounded- at 12:37 pm a 3rd-alarm was sounded and there are at least 15 fire and EMS ('MEDACT') units committed to the scene..

One person has been seriously-injured- reportedly an adult male.


MEDACT has transported that male "with 2nd-degree burns to his face- chest and feet- 2nd to 3rd-degree burns to both arms" in serious to critical condition to KU Medical Center.


At 1:02 pm- fire command reports that an Overland Park police officer who arrived and assisted at the scene before fire companies arrived was also slightly injured.


Other news media reports say two other people were "treated at the scene" by MEDACT-EMS for "minor injuries."


The fire was under control by 1:30 pm..


At 2:27 pm- a fire crew on-scene reported another person with a medical problem- it's not yet known if that was directly attributed to the fire.

Regardless- MEDACT reports that person's medical condition is minor.


Residents in the fire building are displaced and as well as at least several residents of attached buildings.

Sunday Morning Downtown KC-MO Shooting Involves Off-Duty Cop and Firefighter

An off- duty KC-MO firefighter in his 20's is dead and a 42-year-old male off-duty KC-MO police officer is in the hospital with assault injuries after an incident that occurred around 2:25 am Sunday morning.


The shooting occurred near 13th Street and  Baltimore in Downtown KC-MO.


Police reports that the shooting was the end result of a physical disturbance between a cab driver and the victim/suspect who had been in a cab with the his new bride and a cousin in front of the Downtown Marriott hotel on 12th Street between Wyandotte and Central.

The police report says that the victim/suspect and his cousin were "highly intoxicated."

The off-duty cop had heard of the cabbie disturbance- responded- and ended up chasing the victim/suspect onto the 1200 block of Baltimore.

Reports are it was near 13th Street that the victim/suspect turned to attack the pursuing officer.

EMS reports the officer had been "knocked down" and "punched in the face multiple times."

That officer reportedly answered by shooting the man in his 20's twice in the chest.

The police report Monday said  that the attacked and injured officer performed CPR on the man until an ambulance arrived.


The man who was shot was later  identified as an off-duty KC-MO firefighter- 26-year-old Anthony V. Bruno.

Bruno was taken to Truman Medical Center-Hospital Hill (TMC/West) where he was declared dead after arrival.

Firefighter Bruno had reportedly been married earlier in November in Florida and that his wedding reception was taking place Saturday night.




The officer involved was reportedly a KC-MO officer- working off-duty but in uniform as private security.

His facial injuries were moderate but not life-threatening.

Monday afternoon- the KCMPD identified the shooting officer to be "Donald Hubbard."


Reportedly- there were some issues at the shooting scene between on-duty police and responding fire and the single EMS crews.

As monitored direct here and is on a digital recording- one EMS crew- "Medic-9-" was initially dispatched to the incident with Pumper company 8 at 2:26 am.

Medic-9 makes "patient contact" with the gunshot victim at 2:32 am..

A second EMS unit- "Medic-10-" was dispatched for the injured officer at 2:33 am- arriving at the scene at 2:40 am.

Medic-9 on-scene requested a battalion chief- "Car-102-" who responded to the scene at 2:39 am..

It was Medic-10 and not first-arriving Medic-9 that transported the mortally-wounded off-duty firefighter to TMC/West- arriving at the emergency room entrance at about 2:46 am..

The injured off-duty policeman who shot him arrived at TMC/West minutes later aboard Medic-9.


Several blocks of Downtown were blocked-off by police for hours after the incident as KC-MO Police conducted the investigation that involved one of their own.

CSW BREAKING: Double-Shooting in KC-MO - One Dead

Dispatched by police- fire and EMS at 10:25 am to the 2400 block of Euclid.


At 10:36 am- police at the scene are indicating that one victim has very critical injuries and also police report a second DOA person at the scene.

Police were looking for "a black male- height 5-foot 6-inches to 5-foot 8-inches tall- wearing a light blue parka and dark blue pants who left southbound on Euclid."

One victim was transported to a local medical trauma center (hospital).

Reported by KCFD's "Medic-18" as "a 33-year-old male who weighs about 600 pounds- has thee gunshot wounds to the- chest- back and legs."


His condition was critical.

Two Dead in Warrensburg MO Vehicle Crash

At 1:49 am Saturday morning- Warrensburg Fire and Johnson County MO EMS ("JCAS") were sent on a reported "vehicle crashed into a tree on Greenwood (Lane) between South Holden and South Washington."

This is just a few blocks south of the University of Central Missouri campus.

There were reported to be "three" occupants in the crashed vehicle and two reportedly died at the scene.

It took the WFD more than one and a half hours to extricate the 3rd victim.

That victim- reported to be "a 19-20-year-old female" was flown by a Lifeflight-Eagle medical helicopter to Research Med center in Kansas City.

The patient's condition was not life-threatening.

The crash was being investigated with an official report pending.

CSW COMMENTARY: We May Never Know Fate of Man Trapped in Independence MO House Fire Last Sunday

If for one minute- you think that all of Kansas City's corporate news departments cover ALL of the area's significant news- you would be dead-wrong.


Since Independence police and fire now keep their radio communications private (the public can't hear dispatches any longer)- one has to rely on the EMS service for Indy: AMR.

It was last Sunday morning about 20 minutes before the bi-annual screwing with Time that an alarm came in for a house fire at 2905 Claremont in Independence MO..

Less than five minutes into the fire- AMR-EMS sent a "second transport unit" to the scene.

According to a KSHB-41 Action News videographer I sent to the scene based on the second ambulance's call- firefighters found an occupant of the home unconscious in "a back bedroom."

The AMR "transport unit" took the victim who they described as "a mid-60's male" in very critical condition to the Centerpoint Medical Center's emergency department.

The man reportedly never regained consciousness from the time firefighters found him- "20 minutes down time-" through the ambulance transport to the hospital.


KSHB's newscasts that day reported the fire and the injury- which was gone off their Web site the next day with no follow up.


None of the other TV news departments- the KC STAR or the Indy paper The EXAMINER even covered the story.


I know it's no big deal to any of you unless you were family- friends and/or neighbors of that gravely-injured victim.

But the lack of coverage of what I consider a newsworthy event with someone badly hurt is totally unacceptable- considering all the absolutely CRAP stories having not-a-thing to do with Metro KC presented on any given newscast in this (or most other) burg. 

CSW BREAKING: Train Derailment Reported in Kansas City North

At 10:40 am Thursday morning. a train derailment has been reported along Birmingham Road and Searcy Creek Parkway.


This is about 1/2-mile west of I-435 and just south of Missouri-210.


Initially- "five cars" of a train reportedly had derailed.

Arriving fire crews report the derailed cars are "carrying grain."


.

CSW BREAKING: Shooting with a Vehicle Crash in Swope Park

The incident is on Gregory Boulevard about one-half mile west of I-435.

KC-MO Fire department reported "extrication of three" people from the 2 vehicles- one of them- "a 19-year-old male-"  reportedly had a gunshot wound to his upper chest/shoulder area.

He was in serious to critical condition.

An unseat-belted male driver was also transported to a Metro medical trauma center in serious condition with the third person still being cut from the wreckage by fire crews..

Our news partner KSHB-41 Action News reports that prior to the crash- there was "a drive-by shooting near 75th Street and Hunter in Raytown.

Chances are that the shooting victim from the Gregory crash is the Raytown victim.

Capt. Spaulding's World Goes on Hiatus

I'm taking a break- and I'll leave you with a paraphrase of President Dwight Eisenhower's parting shot:


Beware of the American corporate-politically-embedded news media.


Thanks for reading and save yourself!

CSW BREAKING: AT LEAST 6 SHOT- ONE DEAD- IN TWO SOUTH KC-MO SHOOTINGS

Two shooting incidents occurred in south-central Kansas City MO early Saturday morning.

At last report- there was at least one dead and two injured from one- and at least 3 shot with one seriously injured in the other.

The first occurred in or around the northern part of Swope Park around 12:15 am..


Around 12:20 am- police were called to Research Med Center (RMC) on a reported gunshot victim brought there as well as a disturbance at the emergency room (ER).

Shortly- another victim arrives at RMC then- about an hour later- another shooting victim- a "17-year-old male shot in the foot- is taken to another hospital "by his parents."

Metro Zone police officers (the zone would be "blacked out" several times Saturday morning) report finding crime scenes of what appeared to be a rolling gunbattle at the Pavillion in Swope Park- as well as along 63rd Street to Lewis Road (where the $17-million soccer complex is being built).

In fact- police closed 63rd Street Trafficway for more than an hour Saturday morning after "numerous shell casings" were found along the roadway..

Don't believe anyone was in police custody regarding this shooting....

The second shooting occurred just before 3 am at or near a popular nightclub in the 8600 block of Troost..

That's where the homicide occurred- and the second shooting involved two car chases- one was the suspect.

Right after the 3 am call to the police- an officer is in pursuit of a "related- possible suspect vehicle" northbound on U.S. 71 approaching the area of RMC- where the chase ends after more than five minutes.

There's a shooting victim in that car (police had a report of "a dead body in a red (Dodge) Charger" and this was it).

Only minutes later a police vehicle pursuit is in-progress- westbound on I-435 approaching the Kansas state line.

This is reported to be the actual shooting suspect from Troost- and the chase continues west into Kansas.

The pursuit continues west on I-435- jumping off briefly on Quivira- then west on I-435 then south on I-35.

At 119th Street in Olathe- the suspect reverses his direction- going back the way he came on I-35 back to I-435 then east again..

After several road spikes were thrown onto the freeway by the various police departments involved- the suspect slows- then stops eastbound I-435 around Lamar where he's taken into custody..


There may have been a third victim of this shooting that arrived later at a different hospital- making a total of six shot in the two incidents and one killed in the Troost incident.

CSW COMMENTARY: The Martin-Zimmerman Case and The Irresponsible American News Media

By now- everybody knows about neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman (a Hispanic man with a white-Jewish name) shooting and killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin- a black teenager.


I won't go into the whys and wherefores of the trial- it's all public record by now.


What I will go into is how the American news media has made this hill appear to be the world's tallest mountain.


And a front page article in this morning's KANSAS CITY STAR is the epitome of that mountain (sorry- I'm not linking it here).


It was written by one of the STAR's 'fluff' writers (once arrested for a DUI that The STAR conveniently overlooked at the time) and that writer (a black female) surmises how her own husband would be treated in their home (suburbia) neighborhood under similar circumstances..


If that writer's husband conducted himself similarly as Trayvon Martin did- the writer's husband probably would be dead.


IF the writer's husband would have acted respectful or at the very least try to put distance between himself and the other man- husband probably would have been completely unharmed (other than offense at being confronted in the first place- but one can LIVE with that).


Trayvon Martin is dead and George Zimmerman- while acquitted of any killing charges- is now basically a pariah- thanks mainly to the American press.


Kansas City news media: You have a sort of genocide- black on black murders- occurring almost daily on our own streets.


Let's worry- act on- and clean up our OWN house.


If you wanted a sensational story based far from here to editorialize on- how about the Los Angeles cops that opened fire- WITHOUT WARNING- on three citizens there?


American news media: To quote a line from one of my all-time favorite films- (Mr./Ms. Newsperson)- "Let the dead bury the dead."


Ah- to return to the days when the American press just reported the FACTS and kept the editorializing on the back pages. 

Lawrence Welk Presents "A Modern Spiritual"

This is for all my baby-boomer friends and wannabes.


And presenting this "modern spiritual" originally written and performed by Kansas City's own Brewer and Shipley is Welk's accordionist-extraordinaire- Myron Floren.


Unlike Mr. Floren- please better muffle your laughter until after the performance...

CSW BREAKING: Armed Business Robbery in South KC-MO

Police say two males robbed the Dollar General at 6827 Longview Monday afternoon.

Police reported the suspects as two black males who left the scene in an older white Nissan.


No injuries were reported.

CSW BREAKING: "Small Explosion-" Fire at Business in East KC-MO

Six KC-MO fire companies are wrapping up an incident in the middle Big Blue River Valley...

At 3:25 pm- an explosion and fire was reported at Paulo Products at 4827 Chelsea.


Fire command reported it was "a small explosion-" and the accompanying fire was under control by 3:40 pm..


There's been no word yet on any injuries or the cause of the explosion.

Two Overnight KC-MO Police Pursuits- One Critically Injured

A male driver who was being pursued by KC-MO Police crashed early Sunday morning in Midtown.


The crash occurred about 1:15 am Sunday morning at 29th Street and Troost.


The male driver was critically injured- according to an EMS crew who was enroute to a nearby hospital.


There was no word on why police were chasing the driver.



About 11:48 pm- KC-MO Police engaged in another vehicle pursuit at reported speeds of up to "90" mph.

That chase started in the Crown Center area- went south through Midtown and ended up on the East side.


That driver was finally stopped and arrested on 35th Street near Norton at midnight Sunday morning.

Shooting Homicide in Overland Park KS

A male- who OPPD identified as "Raymond Thomas- in his 30's-" is dead after being shot in what is reported as a "drive-by shooting" near the intersection of 94th Terrace and Lamar in central Overland Park Sunday afternoon.

The OPPD was seeking two males in a darker red late-model  Ford product- possibly a Taurus- that was last seen westbound on 95th Street.

Eleven Drunks Nailed at DUI Checkpoint While KC-MO Police Run Out of Cars to Run Calls

Firstly- I am totally against drunk drivers.


Secondly however- I'm also totally against random police checkpoints in our so-called "free" country.


The KANSAS CITY STAR reports this Saturday that "11" intoxicated drivers out of nearly 360 citizen-drivers that were stopped at a DUI checkpoint in KC"s Old Northeast area overnight.


Meanwhile- at least two KC-MO Police patrol zones- East and Center- were "blacked out" for more than thirty minutes early Saturday morning.


"Blacked out" means there are no patrol cars in that zone to run ordinary police calls.


This blogger wonders in print how the dozen or so cops at the DUI checkpoint- if dispersed throughout the city if even in 'roving' drunk patrols- could have alleviated backlogged citizen's requests for police attention early this morning.

Bogus Asiana Pilot Names Read on Bay Area TV Newscast

To get the reader appropriately sobered- the plane that crashed onto the runway at San Francisco International airport (SFO) contributed to the deaths of three people and injured dozens of others.


To get the reader further prepared- I'm of Polish descent  but love a funny Polish joke.


Okay.

Refer to the scrap (screen capture) image and the embedded YouTube clip of a KTVU-TV2 newscast where these names were read on the air.

TRY to maintain your composure while I profusely apologize to all victims of this terrible- but avoidable crash last Saturday.



An NTSB (National Transportation and Safety Board) "intern" probably isn't interning at the NTSB  anymore after providing those bogus pilot names to Bay area news media.

Airliner Loses Engine Enroute to KCI Airport- Declares Emergency

At 12:43 am Saturday morning- the Kansas City MO Fire department's ARFF (Aircraft Rescue and FireFighting) station at KCI airport reported to FD dispatch that an incoming aircraft of unreported type was "on final" approach with "the number two engine out."


The airline wasn't reported either- but there were "56" people on board the plane.


Five outside- or "structural" fire companies plus EMS were sent to assist the ARFF station's crew of 3 crash trucks.


At 12:49 am- the plane had landed safely and was taxiing to a terminal- according to ARFF radio reports.