Police say a man in his 20’s was gunned down Friday after getting his hair cut at a local barber shop near 17th and Minnesota.
The man was shot several times. Police were a block away, on 18th Street, when they heard shots. Once they got to the scene, the man was pronounced dead.
People living nearby the deadly shooting say they believe more needs to be done to stop killings like Friday afternoons.
“That’s what I don’t think they are doing enough they need to kind of tighten up this area just a little more, just a little more,” said neighbor Joe Watson.
Police say people living in the community can help by coming forward with information to solve crimes. During Friday’s shooting, police saw people scattering.
“We can get there we can secure the scene, we can process the scene but when everybody leaves and doesn’t want to share information with us it makes solving crimes very difficult,” said KCK Police Chief Terry Zeigler.
Newly released numbers from the KCK Police Department detail crime within the city in 2015:
- Violent crimes are at a five time high, with 944 violent crimes
- The homicide rate remains the same year to year, with 33 in 2015 and 32 in 2014. This is lower than a decade ago, with 46 homicides in 2006.
- One third of the homicides were drug related, another third were gang related.
- There was one officer-involved shooting, a five-year low.
- Nearly 70 percent of KCK residents polled gave the KCKPD a satisfactory rating across the board. Nearly 91 percent of residents surveyed said the responding officer was "friendly and courteous."
Ziegler says he is working with federal agencies to put a plan in place to target drugs and gangs within KCK.
“If I was involved in drugs or gang activity I would be very concerned at this point, because I think when it kicks off I think you’ll see us very aggressively go after the individuals that are involved in gangs and drugs, we are not going to tolerate it,” said Ziegler.
The plan should be unveiled in about a month, with action being taken by the summer.
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