Four people were killed, including two juveniles, in a series of shooting incidents over a three-hour period Tuesday in the Kansas City area, officials said.
The latest burst of deadly violence comes as the US faces a wave of shootings, with more than 8,500 people dead so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Last weekend alone, at least 16 people died and more than 40 were injured in multiple shootings across the country.
Tuesday’s attacks happened on both sides of the Missouri River – in Kansas City, Missouri, and in Kansas City, Kansas.
It began around noon on Tuesday when police on the Kansas state side responded to a shooting scene and found a 15-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound on a sidewalk near an elementary school. He died from his injuries, according to a news release tweeted by KCKPD.
A suspect fled the scene in a vehicle and has not been apprehended, the police said.
About 90 minutes later, police across the river were called about shots fired and a shooting victim was found and taken to a hospital where they were later pronounced dead, Kansas City, Missouri, police department (KCPD) spokesperson Capt. Leslie Foreman said.
And 30 minutes later, KCPD officers responded to another shooting and found a man suffering from non-life-threatening injuries. He was taken to the hospital, where a critically injured victim from the same shooting arrived by “private transport,” the police said. That victim died from their injuries, according to Foreman.
KCPD was called to yet another shooting approximately 30 minutes later near Sycamore Park where they discovered a juvenile shooting victim, Foreman said.
Life-saving measures were performed and the victim was transported to an area hospital where they were pronounced dead, police said.
The mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, Quinton Lucas called for an end to the violence plaguing both cities.
“My thoughts are with all victims. Region-wide, we can’t keep just doing the same thing,” Lucas said on Twitter.
Correction: An earlier version of this story named the wrong river that separates Kansas City, Missouri, and in Kansas City, Kansas. It is the Missouri River.
CNN’s Jennifer Feldman contributed to this report.
