KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nine people were shot, four fatally, at a bar in Kansas City, Kansas, early Sunday morning after two men walked into the bar and began shooting, according to police.
On Monday morning, police had identified the two suspects in the shooting. One was in custody, while the other remained at large.
Here’s what we know and still don’t know about the shooting.
The shooting
The shooting occurred shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday at Tequila KC Bar, 1013 Central Avenue. Kansas City, Kansas, police said Sunday that two men armed with handguns walked into the bar and began shooting. They allegedly fled the scene after the shooting.
Police said the shooting might have stemmed from an argument earlier in the night, but it was not clear what the dispute was about or why the two men returned to the bar.
KCK police spokesman Officer Thomas Tomasic said that police do not believe the shooting was random, but a possible motive had not been released.
There were around 40 people inside the bar at the time of the shooting, police said. The four victims who were killed, all Hispanic men, were found inside the bar. The five victims who were injured were found outside the bar, according to police.
At least two incidents of violence were reported near Tequila KC in 2019. In February, officers responded to the area for an aggravated assault. In April, police were called to an aggravated battery near the bar. It is unknown if charges were filed in those two incidents.
The victims
Friends and family members identified three of the victims on Sunday night, and police identified the fourth victim at a news conference on Monday.
Alfredo Calderon, 29; Ebar Meza-Aguirre, 29; Francisco Anaya-Garcia, 34; and Martin Rodriguez-Gonzalez, 58, all were killed in the shooting, according to authorities.
Calderon’s sister-in-law, Celeste Trevino, told 41 Action News that she was dancing with Meza-Aguirre, known as “Ever” for short, when the gunmen opened fire. She said she believes that Meza pushed her out of the way but was fatally shot himself during the attack.
Later, when she tried to leave the bar, she realized that her brother-in-law also had been killed.
Trevino said that Calderon was a devoted father to two children. A GoFundMe page had been set up for his family.
Toni Maciel, who knew Anaya-Garcia, said that he had a fiancée and hoped to have children himself one day.
The other five people who were shot suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, police said. At least two of the five injured victims had been released from the hospital later Sunday.
The suspects
Early Monday, KCK police identified the two suspects in the shooting as 29-year-old Hugo Villanueva-Morales and 23-year-old Javier Alatorre. Both men were charged with four counts of first-degree murder, and their bond was set at $1 million each.
Police said Alatorre was in custody after officers arrested him near the 2600 block of Quincy Street in Kansas City, Missouri. On Monday, he was awaiting extradition to Wyandotte County in Kansas.
Villanueva-Morales remained at large on Monday morning. Anyone with information on his whereabouts was asked to call 911 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477. He should be considered armed and dangerous.
Villanueva-Morales had a previous criminal history. He was released from prison in March 2019 after being convicted of attempted robbery, according to records from the Kansas Department of Corrections.
In August 2019, he was accused of hitting a Jackson County deputy outside a nightclub. Villanueva-Morales tried to start a fight when the deputy, who was working off-duty at the club, asked him and another man to leave, according to court records. He allegedly grabbed the deputy and punched him in the face.
Villanueva-Morales, who was arrested and charged with third-degree assault, was set to appear in court for a hearing later this month.
What we don't know
Late Monday afternoon, police also had not released any information about a possible motive for the shooting.
It also was unclear whether the victims who were shot were targeted by the two gunmen or if they were bystanders.
The whereabouts of the second suspect, Villanueva-Morales, were also unknown. He remained at large on Monday morning.
