Police say bullets came from outside the building and hit the sanctuary.
KANSAS CITY, MO — Gunfire tore into a Kansas City church during a funeral service late Friday morning, wounding three people and leaving an off-duty police officer with minor injuries, authorities said. Investigators believe the shots were fired from outside the building and are treating the case as an aggravated assault.
The shooting unfolded around 11:15 a.m. in the city’s Historic Northeast area as mourners gathered at New Beginning Apostolic Church on North Bales Avenue. Police said no officers fired back and no suspect had been arrested by late Friday. The attack shook a neighborhood already on edge after the killing of the man whose funeral was underway, with family members saying they had hired off-duty officers to provide security.
According to police and witnesses, the service was in progress when a burst of gunfire hit the church from outside. A relative of the man being mourned said the pastor had just asked people to bow their heads in prayer when shots slammed into the front of the building. People dropped to the floor and tried to shield each other as the sound echoed through the sanctuary, he said. “These guys shot 100 times in 2 seconds,” said the man, identified by family as “Chuck,” describing what he heard as rapid pops that seemed to come all at once. Police later said early information suggested many shots were fired.
Officers said three members of the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department were inside the church working off duty when the shooting began. Police said the officers were in the foyer and heard multiple gunshots coming from outside. Two victims, an adult woman and an adult man, were struck by gunfire and taken to hospitals with injuries that police described as not life-threatening. A third adult man was hurt in what police called an injury by unknown means, and authorities said he also was expected to survive.
The injured off-duty officer suffered what police described as minor wounds and was treated at the scene. Authorities said it was not immediately clear whether the officer’s injury came from shattered glass, a bullet graze, shrapnel, or another cause. Police said no officer discharged a weapon. Kansas City police Sgt. Phil DiMartino said the fact that shots rang into a place of worship during a funeral was hard to accept. He called it “absolutely unacceptable” that people grieving a family member were forced to take cover inside a church.
The shooting scene stretched across blocks in the Old Northeast as officers set a perimeter and investigators tried to piece together what happened. A white hearse and funeral vehicles were visible near the church as police vehicles crowded the area and emergency crews moved in and out. Detectives interviewed witnesses while trying to determine whether the gunfire came from a passing vehicle or from another location nearby. DiMartino said investigators believed the shots were fired by someone driving by on North Bales Avenue, but he said it was still unclear whether there was one shooter or more than one.
The funeral service was being held for Jerrell Moreland, whom officials and family members said had been killed earlier this month. Police and local reporting described Moreland as 29 and said he and a 26-year-old woman, Brittnee McMillon, were found shot to death behind an apartment complex on East Armour Boulevard on Feb. 11. Family members said the killing had not been solved, and they brought in off-duty officers because they feared trouble during the service. The shooting at the church left mourners frightened and angry that a funeral could become a target.
Authorities did not release details about the shooter’s motive and said they were still working to understand why the church was hit. Police said they did not believe there was an immediate danger to the public after the shots were fired, but they emphasized that the investigation was ongoing and that they were still looking for the person or people responsible. Investigators said the case was being handled as an aggravated assault, a classification often used when gunfire endangers multiple people or causes serious risk, even when injuries are not fatal.
Friday’s violence also added to broader concerns in Kansas City about shootings affecting ordinary gatherings, including memorials and funerals. The relative who spoke at the church said he was exhausted by years of gunfire in the city and worried that violence was becoming more open and harder to avoid. Outside the church, the morning’s routine was replaced by police tape, a heavy law enforcement presence, and stunned families trying to account for relatives who had been inside moments before. Some witnesses described ducking behind pews and scrambling for exits, while others focused on keeping children and older relatives low as the shots ended as suddenly as they began.
By late Friday, police had not identified a suspect, announced arrests, or said whether the people who fired into the church had any connection to the funeral. Officials said they were still collecting information from witnesses and reviewing what evidence was available from the area. Police also had not said whether the church itself, the funeral procession, or nearby traffic patterns were the intended target. Authorities said the number of shots reported by witnesses would be evaluated alongside physical evidence to determine how many rounds were actually fired and from what direction.
The case now hinges on locating the shooter and establishing what led to the gunfire at the church. Police said they expected the investigation to continue through the weekend, with detectives working leads and seeking additional witness statements. Officials said the victims’ injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, and the off-duty officer was expected to recover. The next major update is expected as investigators confirm more about the suspected drive-by and whether any suspect description or vehicle information can be released.
Author note: Last updated February 28, 2026.