KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City homeowner who says he’d been a victim of thieves repeatedly took matters into his own hands early Wednesday morning.
A male, believed to be a teen by witnesses, was shot about 5:15 a.m. near 27th and Askew. Police say he may have broken into more than 30 cars.
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People who say they called 911 about the break-ins wonder why police at nearby East Patrol didn’t respond until that shooting happened.
From 24th and Bales along Indiana Park all the way to 28th and Askew, Kansas City streets remained covered in broken glass Wednesday afternoon.
At least 30 cars parked in front of homes still had windows broken out, with some temporarily covered in plastic.
Renee Willis-Hunter didn’t realize her son’s Dodge Charger was broken into until he went to leave for work about 6:15 a.m.
“He took his whole bag with his id, his social security card, all his credit cards in there, and iPad. He took $2 out, dropped one dollar on the ground and kept the other dollar,” Willis-Hunter said.
By the time her family discovered the theft, police were already nearby investigating a shooting.
A homeowner near 27th and Askew said he saw the thief around his truck and car that had been broken into before. He didn’t want to go on camera but says he tried to scare off the burglar with a laser and then took time to get dressed.
When he went outside the young man was still breaking into cars. He says the thief started threatening to shoot him and a neighbor. The homeowner ended up shooting the thief three times.
Police say someone called EMS at 19th and Cleveland for a shooting victim matching his description suffering from non-life threatening injuries.
“Can’t show no sympathy if you mess with other people’s stuff. That’s how it’s going to be,” Willis-Hunter said standing by a neighbor’s home with warnings on the door for thieves to bring identity with them for next of kin notifications and images of rifles.
Neighbors tell FOX4 they’d called about the break-ins going on as much as an hour earlier, but police didn’t respond. Police say answers to our questions about the timing of the 911 calls and their response aren’t currently publicly available.
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“Got out here a lot faster and that could have been resolved a lot quicker and little man wouldn’t have gotten hurt. But it’s unfortunate that’s how it happened,” Willis-Hunter said.
The shooter was released after questioning. It’s unclear at this point if he could face any charges.
As for the victims, neighbors tell FOX4 police found the thief’s car loaded with stolen items and many of them were able to get their belongings back already.
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