A 12-year-old boy was shot about 8:02 p.m. Thursday in the area of 61st and Nogard in Kansas City, Kansas, according to a police spokesman.
The victim and a relative had been riding four-wheelers near 61st and Nogard when they were shot at, the spokesman stated.
The victim was taken to 59th and Webster, where police were called.
The 12-year-old was taken to an area hospital, the spokesman stated, and was in stable condition according to the latest reports.
There is no suspect information at this time, the police spokesman stated.
The Unified Government Commission on Thursday repealed a ban on pit bulls that has been in place in Kansas City, Kansas, for almost 30 years.
At the lengthy meeting Thursday night in a packed commission room at City Hall, commissioners voted 6-3 to lift the ban on pit bulls. Voting no were Commissioners Gayle Townsend, Tom Burroughs and Jim Walters. Voting in favor of the repeal were Commissioners Jane Philbrook, Melissa Bynum, Mike Kane, Angela Markley, Brian McKiernan and Ann Murguia.
The effort to lift the ban was led by Commissioners Jane Philbrook and Melissa Bynum.
Breed-specific bans have been on the way out in recent years around the country, and the UG has lost some grant funding because it still had one, according to Commissioner Philbrook. In recent years, pit bull bans have been repealed in Bonner Springs, Edwardsville, Shawnee, Roeland Park, Tonganoxie and Lansing, all without any increase in dog bites, she said.
Philbrook said 24 percent of the UG’s animal services budget currently is spent on breed-specific services. Animal control officers are sent out to pick up pit bull dogs that may not be exhibiting dangerous behavior, and that takes away from the time they have to spend on dogs that are exhibiting dangerous behavior.
A UG survey taken in 2016 found that about 82 percent of those surveyed wanted to repeal the pit bull ban, she said.
She also discussed some of the challenges of the animal control department here, such as understaffing and not enough shelter space.
Commissioner Bynum said the pit bull ban could be repealed because the UG has already put a dangerous dog ordinance in place in 2014. That ordinance would cover any dogs’ bad behavior, such as biting.
The commission heard from several residents, including relatives of Jimmie Mae McConnell, who was mauled by a neighbor’s pit bull and died. McConnell was working in her own fenced-in backyard garden in July 2006 in Kansas City, Kansas, when she was attacked.
Theresa McConnell, a relative of the victim, said pit bulls were created by God to be out in the fields with animals and not necessarily to be around people. At any given time, regardless of how trained the dog is or how much time is spent with it, the pit bull dog could attack, she said.
“We are in support of upholding the ban because of the fear that other individuals will have the same situation happen to them as happened to my sister-in-law,” said James McConnell, brother-in-law of the victim. He said pit bulls could turn in an instant on children, and he also said children were afraid to get off their school buses for fear of stray dogs, some of which are pit bulls.
The Rev. Jimmie Banks spoke at length to support the pit bull ban. He described the vicious attack on Mrs. McConnell by a pit bull. The owner of the dog received a prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter. Banks said the pit bull is a breed that attacks with the ability to kill, including killing the members of the family that raised them. He cited data that stated pit bulls were responsible for the majority of the deaths caused by dogs from 2005 to 2018.
Jennifer Stewart of the UG’s animal control said the shelter currently has 35 percent pit bulls or predominantly mixed pit bulls. The pit bulls stay longer in the shelter than other dogs because it is harder to find them homes, as they have to go outside Kansas City, Kansas, to find homes, she noted.
Darren Dillard, a resident, said pit bulls were just like any other dogs and should be treated as individuals. He said any dog could be dangerous, and the UG needs to focus on dangerous dogs, not just pit bulls.
Kate Fields, director of the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City, said they supported the repeal of the pit bull ban. Currently the Humane Society shelter has 45 percent pit bull mixes, and the dogs can’t be adopted in their own communities.
“This is an archaic and outdated rule and it needs to change,” Fields said.
Commissioner Gayle Townsend supported the ban on pit bulls. She said it was an essential tool, not flawless, but effective in helping to maintain effectiveness in public safety.
“Because of unique peculiarities to that species, I do believe the breed-specific ban should stay in effect,” she said.
She said she received a letter from a pediatric surgeon out of state who said injuries from pit bulls’ bites were worse than others. She also noted that the average cost of a dog bite was $33,230 in health care costs.
“We don’t want to put the public at risk,” Commissioner Townsend said. “If we repeal the ban, there’s potentially more harm to the public at large than if we leave it in place.”
Referring to a comment that the community was not complying with the pit bull ban, Commissioner Tom Burroughs said, “I don’t believe we rescind an ordinance for noncompliance or limited resources to make sure we comply with an ordinance. I’m not sure that’s a reason to do away with an ordinance.”
He said it was up to the commission to provide the resources that are needed. He said he would have more comfort if any dangerous animal were taken off the streets.
Commissioner Mike Kane said he had always opposed a pit bull ban, and this decision is a very difficult one.
“We’re fighting as a community because somebody looks this way or that way,” Kane said. “It’s not the dog itself, it’s the person who has the dog.”
Several other persons spoke at this meeting; to view a video of it visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ylNEWKVNis .
Flood waters were in fields on Thursday west of I-435 next to the Missouri River in Wyandotte County. Lakeside Speedway at 5615 Wolcott Drive, west of I-435 in Kansas City, Kansas, was under water again on Thursday afternoon. While Wolcott Drive was open in Wyandotte County on Thursday afternoon, it was closed further west in Leavenworth County at McIntyre Road.
With the Missouri River at moderate flooding and the Kansas River at minor flooding in Wyandotte County, water releases are increasing from reservoirs upstream.
The levees have overtopped again within the past few days at the Wolcott area of Kansas City, Kansas, on the Missouri River, near I-435.
Releases from Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota were increased to 70,000 cubic feet per second on Wednesday, and will go up again to 75,000 cfs on Saturday, according to John Remus, chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division.
The releases are being increased because of high runoff into the upper Missouri River, according to Corps officials. The runoff is from rains in the past five days of 1 to 4 inches in South Dakota and Nebraska.
According to the Corps of Engineers, runoff for May above Sioux City, Iowa, has been more than 7.5 million acre feet, compared to the average of 3.3 million acre feet. Some reservoirs are in the exclusive flood control zone, with little space left for additional runoff water, according to officials.
Flows from Garrison Dam were reduced to 15,000 cfs to offset some of the high flows entering the system from Garrison to Gavins Point, according to Corps officials.
Reservoirs upstream on the Kansas River, which flows into the Missouri River at Kansas City, Kansas, also are near the top, according to officials.
Water releases were increased Wednesday from Tuttle Creek Dam, near Manhattan, Kansas, where 15,000 cfs were being released into the river. The releases were increased to 25,000 on Wednesday night, and will step up to 27,500 cfs later this afternoon and evening, according to Corps officials.
Milford and Clinton lake water releases are being kept to low flow because of the flooding on the Missouri River, Corps officials said.
About 10,000 cfs that has been released from Lake Perry since Sunday is now in the Missouri River, according to officials.
The water releases are timed for a period when not much rainfall is expected.
The weather forecast does not have any large amount of rain for the next few days in the Missouri River Basin, according to a National Weather Service forecaster. Some light rain is possible Sunday through Monday in Kansas, widespread activity is predicted in a five-state area including Kansas from Monday to Tuesday, and heavy rain returns to Missouri Wednesday to Thursday, according to forecasters.
The water releases are being factored into the current hydrologic predictions for the rivers, according to officials.
According to Corps officials, 31 levees have overtopped in the region since May 22. That includes three in the last 24 hours, including two on the Grand River and one in Saline County, Missouri, officials stated.
In all, since the spring flooding started in March 13, there have been about 45 separate levees that have been damaged by flooding, Corps officials stated.
Corps officials said that 800,000 sandbags have been issued in the last week in Kansas and Missouri, with 22 pumps and three automatic sandbag machines, as well as barriers. There are more requests for automatic sandbag machines than are available.
An area at Hutton Road and Wolcott Drive, a former go-kart track, was flooded on Thursday. More flooding was seen in fields to the west of Lakeside Speedway on Wolcott Drive on Thursday afternoon. More flooding was seen in fields on Wolcott Drive on Thursday afternoon. Flooding was visible Thursday along I-435 at the Missouri River on the Wyandotte County side. Flooding was visible Thursday along I-435 at the Missouri River on the Wyandotte County side. The Missouri River at I-435 between Wyandotte County and Platte County was in moderate flood stage on Thursday. Flooding was visible Thursday along I-435 at the Missouri River on the Wyandotte County side. Flooding was visible Thursday along I-435 at the Missouri River on the Wyandotte County side. Flooding was visible Thursday along I-435 at the Missouri River on the Wyandotte County side. The Kansas River currently is in minor flood stage in Kansas City, Kansas. This view on Thursday was from K-32 near 27th Street. A view of the Kansas River from the Turner bridge near South 57th and K-32 in Kansas City, Kansas, on Thursday afternoon. A view of the Kansas River on Wednesday on K-32 near 57th Street in Kansas City, Kansas, showed water in back of the trees on the east side of the river. The Missouri River at Parkville, a gauge between Wyandotte County and Platte County, was at moderate flood stage on Thursday. (National Weather Service – USGS graphic) The Kansas River was at minor flood stage at this location, which is at Kansas Avenue and the state line, on Thursday afternoon. (National Weather Service – USGS graphic)
