KCPD speaks on deadly Northland shooting: ‘These things are avoidable’

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City, Missouri Police Department is investigating a deadly shooting Wednesday afternoon in the Northland.

The shooting was reported just before 4:20 p.m. in the parking lot of the Walmart near the Shops at Boardwalk shopping mall at Northwest Barry Road and North Boardwalk Avenue.

When officers arrived on scene they located a man suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken by EMS to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was identified as Ronald Barnett, a 71-year-old white man.

Police say someone was taken into custody a short distance from the scene.

When we spoke with Sgt. Phil DiMartino, he was unsure of what the altercation was about, or if it started in the store or not.

“These things are avoidable, a lot of this is preventable, I don’t know many things that are worth producing a firearm over and ending someone’s life or risking getting your life ended,” he said.

DiMartino did, however, say the store was busy when the shooting happened.

“4:30 after work, in a Walmart parking lot, you can imagine this place was full,” he said.

“There could have been a worst-case scenario on top of what is already a tragic scene. So, for that, we’re fortunate.”

This is the 98th homicide in Kansas City, Missouri this year, and for KCPD, anything above zero is too many.

“We’re not going to abandon the gameplan, yes, it’s been effective, we’ve seen a decrease, but frankly it’s not enough,” DiMartino said.

“Gosh, this last year, this year, there’s been a lot of instances of violence that have stemmed from verbal altercations where one or both parties had the chance to walk away. We can have disagreements, we can scream back and forth but at the end of the day, what is it really worth?”

The Walmart on Boardwalk Avenue is closed while police continue to investigate the incident.

Anyone with information that can help detectives is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-8477.

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