KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One person was critically injured in a shooting Monday morning at Mount Washington Missionary Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri.
"The guy that shot him it was just like a matter of fact – it wasn't like he ran out," said Willie Thornton, Pastor at Mount Washington Missionary Baptist Church, 3551 Wabash Avenue.
The armed suspects entered the church basement, upset at one of the volunteers – all because of the way he looked at them.
"It’s not worth someone’s life – you know – there's a way to solve whatever issue you may have, and it's called conflict resolution," Thornton said.
Thornton said while a member of the group tried to talk to one of the suspects, the other shot the volunteer in the torso as a crowd of 15 or so looked on.
"If I'm going to shoot you just because you looked at me in a way that I didn't like for you to look at me, something's wrong with this culture," Thornton said.
That volunteer is now fighting for his life in the hospital.
"Here we have a young man trying to do the right thing, and he's struggled with homelessness but he always came in and wanted to help," Thornton said.
Church leadership is now looking at hiring security.
"You need forceful security," Sonny Gibson, a neighbor, said. "You don't need nobody to shake your hand."
Gibson, 84, has lived almost half his life across the street from the church.
He said he believes the church's Neighbor2Neighbor program, which offers breakfast and lunch to those in need, is well-intended but attracts crime to an area already struggling with the issue.
"The people who come, they don't get them away after they get their food," Gibson said. "They linger around in the back so you need some persons to enforce leaving."
Thornton said he understands Gibson's concerns and will consider them in the days to come.
"As a church, we have a responsibility to meet the needs of god's people," Thornton said. "If we don't feed the homeless, then who will?"
The shooting suspects left before police arrived.
Anyone with information regarding this incident, is asked to call the Greater KC Crimestoppers Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
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For jurisdictions that utilize the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline, anonymous tips can be made by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com.
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