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Kansas City police shut down Broadway Avenue in Westport amid standoff with suspect

Authorities were asking people to avoid a city block near Kansas City’s Westport entertainment district on Friday evening as police were engaged in an hours-long standoff with a possibly armed suspect.

Kansas City police blocked off the 4100 block of Broadway Avenue amid the operation on Friday as a precaution, Sgt. Jake Becchina, a police spokesman, said in a statement. The person whom police were concerned about was a suspect in an aggravated assault who was reported to be armed with a gun, Becchina said.

Around 3:30 p.m., officers were called to the reported assault inside the Westly on Broadway apartment building at 4111 Broadway Ave. Two of the building employees told arriving officers they saw a male, armed with a gun, assault a female, Becchina said.

As the building employees noticed what was happening, they reported, the female fled the area and the suspect went into an apartment. He refused to come out for several hours, Becchina said, and tactical resources and negotiators were dispatched to the building.

Around 8:15 p.m., officers entered an apartment where the suspect was believed to be but no one was found inside, Becchina said.

Yellow crime scene tape was placed around the block as a heavy police presence was apparent in the area Friday evening. On a nearby rooftop, at least one officer could be seen looking through the scope of a rifle as another looked through a pair of binoculars.

However, most of Westport, a popular area for nightlife, appeared business as usual Friday evening.

Further details about the incident were not immediately disclosed by police. In addition to officers on scene, police had set up a command post Friday evening a few blocks away at the Community Blood Center.

Road traffic along Broadway Avenue was also shut down by police during the standoff. It was reopened later Friday after the operation ended.

Kansas City Police Department snipers are engaged in a standoff at the 4100 block of Broadway Boulevard near Westport on July 1, 2022, in Kansas City.
Kansas City Police Department snipers are engaged in a standoff at the 4100 block of Broadway Boulevard near Westport on July 1, 2022, in Kansas City.
Kansas City Police Department snipers are engaged in a standoff at the 4100 block of Broadway Boulevard near Westport on July 1, 2022, in Kansas City.
Kansas City Police Department snipers are engaged in a standoff at the 4100 block of Broadway Boulevard near Westport on July 1, 2022, in Kansas City.
Kansas City Police Department snipers are engaged in a standoff at the 4100 block of Broadway Boulevard near Westport on July 1, 2022, in Kansas City.
Kansas City Police Department snipers are engaged in a standoff at the 4100 block of Broadway Boulevard near Westport on July 1, 2022, in Kansas City.