Month: April 2014

Gas leak causes evacuation at Wyandotte Plaza

Some Wyandotte Plaza businesses and townhomes to the north were evacuated this morning because of a gas leak.

Construction workers working on the remodeling at Wyandotte Plaza, near 78th and State Avenue, hit a gas line with a front loader around 9:30 a.m. April 16 on a road behind the building, said Assistant Chief Craig Duke, spokesman for the Kansas City, Kan., Fire Department.

Some businesses in Wyandotte Plaza and about eight townhomes to the north had to be evacuated because the wind was blowing gas back into the building, he said.

The incident lasted about 45 minutes, until the gas was shut off, and then workers and residents returned to their buildings, he said. There were injuries.

 

Homicide victim identified

A victim of a homicide on April 14 has been identified, according to Kansas City, Kan., police.

Oscar Sanchez-Escamilla, 30, of Kansas City, Kan., was the victim of a shooting on I-635 near I-70 on April 14.

At the time of the shooting, police said they did not believe it had anything to do with a series of recent highway shootings under investigation in Kansas City, Mo.

Sanchez-Escamilla was one of two gunshot victims who went to the University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, Kan., around 3:30 a.m. April 14.

The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department’s Major Case Unit is investigating.

Anyone with information about the shooting may call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

Governor orders flags flown at half-staff in memory of shooting victims

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff from sunup to sundown on Thursday, April 17, and Friday, April 18, in honor of Dr. William Corporon, Reat Griffin Underwood and Terri Lamanno.

The three were victims of shootings at the Jewish Community Campus and Village Shalom in Overland Park, Kan., on April 13.

Memorial services for Lamanno, Corporon and Underwood are scheduled on Thursday and Friday.

“On behalf of the citizens of Kansas, Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer and I offer our condolences to the families and friends of those whose lives were lost in this senseless act of violence,” Gov. Brownback said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”