KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It wasn't until after working his shift at Charlie Hustle Saturday that Jakob Lash realized gunshots had been fired not far from the business.
"I was working last night and I did close with my other co-worker, and we noticed a lot of police lights outside ... [I] didn't really look into it much,” Lash said.
Kansas City, Missouri, police officers responded around 6:30 p.m. Saturday to the report of shots fired at W. 47th Street and Central Avenue. No injuries were reported, but a broken window at Shake Shack is a reminder of the incident.
“It is kind of sad that violence like that is happening on the Plaza," Lash said. "It's not late at night or anything; it's still light outside."
Aaron Lewis, store manager at Rally House, said recent violence in the area has led him to enforce extra precautions.
“My team knows. We've run through drills as a store if something were to happen — tell customers to do whatever we got to do to get them away from the front of the store — and that's kind of why we have off-duty in here now, to protect our customers as well as pedestrians and my staff in here,” Lewis said.
Lewis said he believes customers should stay alert at all times.
“Especially now, it's a scary world. Always keep your head on a swivel," he said. "If you try to, avoid confrontation all the times. If it does come to you and if it does happen, call 911 as soon as you can."
KCPD said Sunday the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
In a statement to KSHB 41, Shake Shack shared the restaurant is working with authorities.
"The safety of our team and guests is our top priority, and violence has no place in and around our Shacks," the statement read in part.
Nevertheless, Lash is hopeful shoppers will continue to enjoy the Plaza.
"I know it could've gone worse, but the Plaza is still a good place with lots of security and pretty good police presence here almost all the time,” Lash said.
—
