A 57-year-old Midtown landlord now faces felony charges accusing him of opening fire near 39th and Main Monday morning.
Brent Lambi faces unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action charges, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced Tuesday.
Lambi told police he started shooting to get police attention because he thought his parents had been kidnapped, court documents detail.
Witnesses in the area reported several gunshots, up to six, and reported having a tire blown out by the bullets. Police found an assault-style rifle, ammunition and spent shell casings in the area of the reports and arrested Lambi at the scene.
There were no reported injuries due to the gunfire.
Court documents said a man driving in the area noticed his landlord, Lambi, standing on the corner yelling with a rifle in his hands.
“They were yelling, and then about a minute later he fired one shot this way,” said witness Ty Turner.
41 Action News obtained a photo Lambi behind a building near 39th and Walnut.
According to law enforcement, he targeted and missed two men — one of them is the owner of the Blind Tiger, a popular bar on Main Street.
“Police responded within minutes... They were like, right there,” said Jonathan Turner, who heard the gunfire.
As officers converged, the gunman gave himself up without a fight.
“He was peaceful. He didn’t say nothing,” said witness Larry Dixson.
This is the latest act of violence near the Main Street corridor.
Monday’s shooting scene was in the same area that police closed off in May when a thief ran over and killed the owner of Clint’s Comics. That case remains unsolved.
“This has got to stop. This violence has gotten way out of proportion now,” said Dixson.
MIDTOWN SHOOTER: this is the armed suspect @kcpolice arrested this morning for shooting at two men near 39th & @MainStreetKC. No one hurt. pic.twitter.com/4G5IFCCgyJ
— Andres Gutierrez (@AFGutierrez) July 31, 2017
After arriving at the police station, court documents said Lambi admitted to shooting from a balcony at a brick wall and shooting at one of the victims "to get him away." The victim was driving a truck at the time of the gunfire.
The charging documents did not address Lambi's kidnapping claim.
Lambi has a prior charge for unlawful use of a weapon in Jackson County, for which he served probation.
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