JoCo family reeling after ‘bizarre’ suspected arson fire where neighbor shot at suspect

When she was shaken awake by a loud crash just before 4 a.m. Friday, an Overland Park woman figured it was their teenage son bumping into something downstairs.

After realizing the kids were still in bed, the woman, fearing a home invasion, shouted “hey!”

Then she heard the gunshots. “Pop, pop, pop, pop—” at least seven of them.

“At that point, smoke alarms went off and right after that we started smelling smoke,” her husband Ethan — who asked The Star not reveal the family’s last name for their safety — said in an interview. “We went from barricading ourselves in our room to trying to get out of there.”

They fled to a neighbor’s house.

Now, police are investigating a suspected arson attempt after a fire started to tear through the basement of the family’s home in a usually quiet Overland Park neighborhood.

As firefighters were responding to the blaze, several residents also called 911 to report gunshots in the neighborhood, which sits just across the street from Blue Valley High School. Within five minutes of Ethan’s family reporting the fire, crews with the Overland Park Fire Department were on scene, putting out the blaze.

When police arrived, a witness told officers he had shot at a person he found suspicious in the backyard of the home where the fire began.

The witness told police he saw a white car parked in front of their residence. They saw the driver exit the vehicle and walk toward the backyard of a home. He then heard glass break and saw a flame in the house, he told officers.

The witness then saw the suspect running back toward their car wearing a mask. The witness told officers he pointed his gun at the suspect and told him to stop, but the suspect got in their vehicle and fled the scene west on 158th Terrace.

The witness allegedly told officers he fired several rounds at the car as it drove away. Officer John Lacy, a spokesman with Overland Park Police Department, said officers canvassed the area and did not observe any damage to homes or other property from the gunfire.

Ethan’s family was uninjured in the incident. But they were left in shock, still processing hours later what had happened.

“Fortunately, it’s structurally OK, but everything is cooked down there,” Ethan said. “We will have to get new floors, new rugs, new walls, probably new cabinets. We have it airing out.”

In talking with investigators, early evidence suggests one to two Molotov cocktails were thrown in their window, Ethan said. The official cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Ethan remembers hearing two crashes before smelling smoke.

“We were waiting outside our home — the crime scene — and they said ‘OK, you can go back in,” Ethan said, thinking back to that morning. “We’ll probably find a place to hang out here for a little while.”

‘Scary that someone would try to kill them’

Ethan’s neighbor Beverly Bohn, 76, also woke up to the sound of gunfire Friday morning. She said she was shocked to hear reports about attempted arson.

“I don’t know the neighbors there… that well, but they seem like a nice enough family.” Bohn said. “That’s scary that someone would try to kill them with a house fire. That’s just very bizarre to me.”

Ethan told The Star that people have been telling him that incidents like this are almost always personal, but said he has a hard time thinking of anyone who would want to harm his family. The local homeowners association called him Friday morning, he said, and told him that in 30 years the association has not heard of any reports of arson attempts.

Bohn, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1991, said she has only heard of a couple house robberies since she moved in.

“But I’ve never felt not safe,” she said.

As much as she was concerned about Ethan’s family, Bohn said she was also concerned about someone opening fire on a moving vehicle in her neighborhood.

“We don’t know where all those shots were going, either,” Bohn said. “At that time of night, you’re probably not going to hit anybody, but other cars could be hit. … I just don’t like the idea of somebody stepping in there and possibly getting himself harmed in the process.”

It’s unknown if the suspect vehicle was hit by the gunfire, police said.

Capt. Zach Stephens with the Overland Park Police Department said the witness who fired at the suspect was not taken into custody Friday. Police did not say if charges will be pursued against the witness.

Lacy said he encourages people to report suspicious activity by calling 911, but advised the public against taking matters into their own hands by firing a weapon in an open area where errant bullets can hurt others.

“Give us intimate detail of what the person is wearing, the location, and if it’s a vehicle, get a license tag, make and model,” Lacy said. “Be a trained observant is what we want the public to do.”

For now, Ethan said his family is focusing on the insurance claim and trying to move forward. In the aftermath of the chaos his family experienced, he said he will be investing in stronger home security measures.

“Around here, it’s just not a thing you (have to) think about or worry about,” he said. “We’re getting it cleaned up and will go from there.”