Police have made no arrests after gunfire wounded four people near 34th Street and Park Avenue on Saturday night.
KANSAS CITY, MO — A 2-year-old boy and his grandmother are recovering after they were among four people shot Saturday night in Kansas City, where gunfire spread across several blocks and sent residents scrambling for safety.
Kansas City police responded just after 9 p.m. Aug. 15 to the area of 34th Street and Park Avenue after a ShotSpotter alert detected gunfire. Officers were directed to a nearby home, where they found a woman and a young boy suffering from gunshot wounds. Investigators later found a teenage girl wounded near another home, while an adult man arrived at a hospital on his own with a gunshot wound. Police said all four victims were responsive late Saturday, and authorities later reported they were in stable condition.
The woman and the 2-year-old are grandmother and grandson, according to the family. Both were shot in the back while they were outside their home. The family said they had been spending time on their front porch when shooting began farther down the block. The grandmother and child have since been released from the hospital.
Surveillance video obtained by KCTV showed people running as shots were fired. The video appeared to show groups of people firing at one another, including a man raising a gun and firing several times. Police have not publicly determined what triggered the violence or identified who fired the shots that struck the four victims.
A neighbor, Dr. Sean Bryant, said he was watching television with his dogs when the gunfire erupted shortly before 9 p.m. Bryant said the shooting lasted about 15 seconds. One bullet entered his home and lodged in drywall on the other side, he said. He quickly moved toward the floor and grabbed his dogs as the shots continued outside.
Bryant said police arrived within minutes and closed off the surrounding area while investigators processed a crime scene that stretched across several blocks. He said investigators remained in the area for about five hours. Bryant, who has lived there for more than three years, said he had heard gunfire in the neighborhood before but had not experienced an incident of this scale so close to his home.
The timing of the shooting added to residents’ concerns. Bryant said children had been outside playing and families were gathered in the neighborhood when the gunfire started. He described the area as a close community where neighbors regularly help one another with yard work, food and other daily needs.
The grandmother, who did not appear on camera because of safety concerns, said her grandson remained in pain after the shooting and urged those responsible to come forward. Authorities have not released the names of the four people who were wounded.
Police are investigating the case as an aggravated assault. No arrests had been announced, and investigators had not publicly identified a motive or explained what led to the exchange of gunfire. The investigation remains active.
Author note: Last updated August 18, 2026.