Witnesses recall deadly Sunday morning shooting in Westport

One group of friends recall how at the corner of Westport and Broadway, what was supposed to be a good night out turned deadly quick.

“It was like pow pow pow pow pow like 5 or 6 7 shots something like that,” said Ellie Preston.

Ellie Preston and her friends were out enjoying the sights and sounds of Westport when multiple shots rang out around 1 in the morning Sunday.

“It was really scary, it was just loud you knew what they were as soon as it happened,” Preston said.

Immediately ducking for cover near this Taco Bell Cantina she and her friends said they feared for their lives.

“It's like the only thing you can do in the moment is run,” Preston said, “We just started screaming and running and crying we like hid behind the car with this couple and the girl was like crying."

According to Kansas City Police the gunfire started around 1:20 am Sunday morning, east of the Westport and Broadway intersection, after a disturbance in a large crowd led to gun shots.

The shots left 6 injured including one young man who died from his injuries. Police identified him as Jahquan Robinson – whose 24th birthday would have been Sunday, something Mathias Miller says is sad.

“It makes it feel super real and its devastating truly” Miller said,”It's something that we sort of expect to some extent and I feel like it's out of my control so it's kind of disappointing that I feel like there is nothing I can do about it."

For this group of young adults, they are saddened by what took place on what was supposed to be a fun night and they hope things will change in Westport for the better soon.

“At the same I'm just kind of numb to it because it's like even though you were there it's like this kind of stuff happens all the time, Preston said.

“I don't think it's going to stop people from going out and I know there is a lot of protection down there but it's something that you have to be mindful about when you are going out,” Miller said.n

Kansas City Police say if you saw or heard anything you are asked to call 816-474-TIPS which is anonymous for up to a $25 thousand dollar reward.