Shooting inside popular mall in Kansas City, Missouri, injures 6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Gunfire broke out at a popular shopping center on the edge of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, wounding six people, authorities said.

The shooting at Crown Center on Wednesday around 5:45 p.m. shattered windows in the mall. Two of the injured were found in a food court on the lower level. Police later learned that four other people had gone to a hospital in a private vehicle. All six are expected to survive, police spokesman Sgt. said Jake Becchina.

Most of the injured were in their late teens or early 20s, but police said one victim was at least 50 years old. It was not immediately known if some or all of the injured were involved in the dispute or if they were bystanders.

Witnesses told police that a verbal altercation between two groups led to the shooting, which damaged some businesses in the mall. Witness John Gaston told KCTV-TV that he heard gunfire and then saw chaos.

“Pretty much everyone was screaming and running,” Gaston said.

Several people were arrested at the scene for questioning, Becchina said, but police have not yet announced any arrests.