KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A report of a man carrying a handgun inside of a Hardee’s led to a nearly four-hour standoff on Tuesday that turned out to be for nothing.
The first call about the incident at the fast food restaurant on South 291 Highway near Liberty Drive came in around 4:45 pm.
A customer told Hardee’s staff he witnessed a man holding a handgun and mumbling incoherently in the bathroom before police were called.
Officers evacuated the restaurant thinking the man was still inside.
However, after a group of SWAT officers entered the restaurant four hours later, no suspect with a gun was found.
The large police response, which featured an armored truck and multiple police departments from around the metro surrounding Hardee’s, led to concern from people who witnessed the incident.
“I was going to head to Hardee's and grab a quick sandwich real quick,” explained Bobby Holtzclaw. “As I got a little closer, I happened to notice that a female officer had a rifle pointed at the restaurant."
Holtzclaw said he was shocked to see such a situation unfold at a fast food restaurant.
“People go in there with their kids and they're just going in there to grab something to eat real quick,” he explained. “You never expect that when you go in anywhere."
With police surrounding Hardee’s for hours, groups of onlookers watched from parking lots nearby.
Liberty resident Melissa Willcox said she was curious to see what was going on.
“We just saw helicopters flying and circling around and we saw the cops and the sirens,” she explained. “It's never been a harmful city and we've always felt really safe here so it's really surprising."
Despite the alleged gunman not being found, Willcox said the possibility of random violence brought concern.
“Anything can happen at any point especially when it's right in your hometown,” she explained.
Police will now review surveillance footage from inside Hardee’s to further investigate the case.
Officers said they believed the alleged suspect did not present a danger to the public.
Update: SWAT truck has pulled away from Hardee's after officers entered around 10 min ago pic.twitter.com/pBqJKLtV07
— Tom Dempsey (@KCTomDempsey) October 11, 2017
Update: SWAT truck just pulled around to back of Hardee's pic.twitter.com/Eh4eGesI3q
— Tom Dempsey (@KCTomDempsey) October 11, 2017
