by Mary Rupert
Residents and friends and families of victims walked down the middle of Central Avenue at dusk on Monday to make a point.
“We’re here and we need to show strength for the future, for our kids,” said Edgar Galicia, executive director of the Central Avenue Betterment Association, which organized the walk.
“We should save ourselves working together. We should work together for a better future,” he said.
He talked about how much the community in the Central Avenue area has built itself up in the past few years. Earlier in the day Galicia said CABA will support whatever decision the bar makes about staying open or not.
Unified Government Commissioner Brian McKiernan said he rejects the notion that crime is to be expected in this neighborhood. Four generations of his family have lived within a few blocks of 10th and Central, he said.
“This is a good neighborhood that is full of good people who work hard every single day of their lives to make life better for themselves and their families and their communities,” McKiernan said. “Unfortunately, there are times when even very good people encounter unexpected and unwanted difficulties and tragedies and sadness that can be truly tragic. We will do our best to support you and be with you in the days and weeks ahead, recognizing that our best will not be nearly enough.”
He said they may be asking themselves how to prevent it from ever happening again. He had two suggestions: Reach out to the members of one’s immediate family and offer them love, care and support that will nourish them throughout their everyday lives. Second, reach out to community members, get to know them better and renew the commitment to work with them to improve physical, spiritual and mental health of everyone in the community.
“Just maybe, the love and support and care we show one another will change the community in a positive way and will decrease the chances that anything like this ever happens again,” McKiernan said.
Two persons have been charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the bar shooting case. Four people died, and another five persons were wounded by gunshots at 1:27 a.m. Sunday at the Tequila KC bar at 10th and Central in Kansas City, Kansas.
Starting at 13th Street and walking to 10th, the group of about 200 persons carried candles and signs and some brought their families. Central was closed to traffic and police often were turning cars away from the neighborhood’s main street.
When they got to Tequila KC bar at 10th and Central, where the shooting occurred early Sunday morning, a few people sang “Amazing Grace” and the group listened to speeches by Edgar Galicia of Central Avenue Betterment Association and Unified Government Commissioner Brian McKiernan.
For the most part, it was a quiet walk and a quiet group. District Attorney Mark Dupree and some law enforcement members walked with the group. A few people called out, “No more guns!” One woman sat on a nearby doorstep, sobbing.
T-shirts were offered through CABA as a way to raise funds for families of the victims.
