Shooting in Kansas City: Getting the facts

Terrible news — not long after after Kansas City police exchanged shots with a man in south Kansas City, a man fitting the same description walked into a nearby mall in south Kansas City and opened fire.

I was watching WDAF, Fox 4, the Fox-owned affiliate, at 4:42 p.m. when it broke into NASCAR race coverage to cut to its live reporter with the news that five people were shot and two people dead. In the background, a grisly image of the Starbucks' plate glass windows all shot out.

Anchor Tom Lawrence added a detail that revealed the kinds of choices news producers must make when news breaks: The station had waited until Jeff Gordon could safely be declared the win of that afternoon's NASCAR race before they broke in with the news.  (In fairness to Fox 4, there was several minutes of mostly waiting around for the race to restart, during which one must assume they would've interrupted had the reporter been on the scene.)

KMBC-9 ran a crawl at 4:44 saying that "multiple crews" were headed to the scene and that "there is no known information at this time," which wasn't true if you were watching Fox or reading KansasCity.com (where the first story posted at 4:38 p.m.). On Monday, KMBC news director Michael Sipes added: "We broke into coverage at 4:22pm with Larry Moore, Johnny Rowlands in the Helicopter and Marcus Moore on a live van and Chris Nagus on the phone.  Coverage then stopped at 4:33pm, because we needed crews to work the story out there."

 At 5 p.m., three out of four stations were live on the scene.

KCTV-5's Tom Wait reported four shot and two dead including the shooter, and claimed KCTV had been on the scene first. While he talked, KCTV showed electric video taken earlier, buttressing Wait's claim: cop cars racing into Ward Parkway center, cops running around, as well as video of a dozen red-shirted Target employees gathered nervously in the parking lot. (CNN would make heavy use of this video later on.) Photog Andrew Zimmerman took that. Then came the eyewitnesses, the most compelling of them Queea Miller, a woman parked just two cars down from the suspect, who ducked in terror and listened as the popping of the firearm grew more distant, and was soon replaced by the sound of police sirens, after which time she and her daughter dashed into a Pier 1 store. Another eyewitness said he heard shots and a man running by with blood on his face.

KCTV's Surae Chinn stood on the mall's north end, with Target as her backdrop. She and others would comment on what a wild, chaotic scene had developed at the mall. And soon details would trickle out that the terror had spread rapidly to all corners of the Ward Parkway Center in just a few minutes, as the shooter roamed the corridor.

Our first clue of this was the news stations could not immediately nail down where the shooting, or shootings, actually took place. While Fox 4 said it was a Starbucks, video of the scene clearly showed it was a mall entrance, not a store entrance, whose glass was shattered by gun blasts.  The eyewitnesses that spoke on the phone and on camera to news stations all came from the Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse, which is to the south of the entry door. Still others inside the Target store, at the north end of the mall, and the Dillard's store at the south end, would report hearing gunshots. A single, fairly short corridor connects the stores in Ward Parkway Center.

Facts poured in from eyewitnesses. The cineplex at the other end of the mall shut down, police officers running in and telling moviegoers to get out. Target employees gathered in the parking lot, all safe and accounted for. An "air-conditioned city bus" became an interview area, as eyewitnesses were herded in to talk with police. Frantic parents arrived at the mall from all directions, looking for loved ones. Reporters and anchors begged onlookers to stay away from Ward Parkway Shopping Center.

Helicopters buzzed overhead. KMBC-9 and Fox 4 started covering the crime scene from overhead. They would be joined by KCTV's chopper and, eventually, KSHB. KMBC-9 went to a split scene so it could continue covering the NBA playoffs ... and I had a flashback to the white Bronco chase.

KSHB, aka "NBC Action News," was MIA until 5:20, as the station continued to cover a double overtime hockey game. And then all they had, at first, was a single reporter at the gas station where the police officer was shot.

KSHB news director Debbie Bush emailed Monday: "Just so you know…we broke into the hockey game (I have the angry e-mails to prove it) between 4:30 and 4:45 with live pictures and reporter from the mall.  We were not MIA."

By 5:26 p.m., every station was taking a breather. Even KCTV signed off "a little bit early," said co-anchor Karen Fuller, in order to get through a backlog of commercials ... before returning at 5:30 to continue covering the carnage. As I said, I don't envy the choices news producers have to make.

At 5:29 KMBC is back, saying that "as Johnny Rowlands has been showing you all afternoon long," which I guess means the past 29 minutes.

At 5:30 KCTV is confirming that three are dead, including the suspect, gunned down by a KCMO police officer. Two of the dead were shot in the parking lot. It's also possible additional victims drove themselves to the hospital. Surae Chinn reminds us that "there's still a lot we have not confirmed," including the cop shooting link.  There is the remarkable detail that police — security guards? — were ordering moviegoers out of the plex just moments after they heard the pop of gunshots. Things seemed to be happening at incredible speed, or else witnesses are condensing their timelines.

But as Chinn's talking, 10 feet away from her, KCMO police spokesman Sgt. Tony Sanders is talking to KMBC-9 live. Chinn even points out that Sanders is talking to news crews. Well, why isn't KCTV-5 covering it? In fact, only 9 is covering it live. We know NBC is out of the loop, but Fox 4 has a crew there.

Sanders reveals that at least two people have phoned in from emergency rooms to say they were injured in the shopping center's parking lot. It becomes clear that most of the shooting happened in the parking lot, not at either store, that after the killings in the parking lot, the gunman strolled into the mall and was walking around with a gun.  That's where he was killed.

Six minutes later, KMBC-9 is still the only station in town covering this.  I call KMBC's assignment desk. Why are you the only ones covering this? "I don't know," says the woman who picks up. "Marcus (Moore) just called me a few minutes ago to say, I'm going to have Tony Sanders, so be ready."

I switch over at 5:38 and NBC action news has finally roused its chopper. KCTV-5 was apparently waiting for an "exclusive," as Chinn is now finally getting to stick her microphone in the face of Tony Sanders.

Will any of this matter worth a hill of beans?  On one level, of course not.  Three Four people are dead, all but one of them innocents.  Others, including a police officer, are hurt.  Hundreds if not thousands of patrons of a busy shopping center on a Sunday afternoon just got the scare of their lives. But on another level, when things like this happen, word spreads electrically and, for better or worse, we turn to TV for the latest.

Based on what I have seen for the past 62 minutes, KCTV-5 and KMBC-9 showed they have the resources and the desire to get onto this story and stay on it. Fox 4 did a fine job, and I don't see any point in knocking their coverage.  But watching 5 and 9, there was an urgency there that — again, for better or worse — is why we turn to TV for the latest. Watching the 20-something reporters on KCTV and KMBC, there were times where it felt like their jobs were on the line.

We know that when a thunderclapper rolls into our area, all four stations will, without fail, clamor for our attention. That's because they have hours of warning to prepare for the storms. But on a Sunday afternoon, when a storm of violence comes out of nowhere, when TV staffing levels are thin and it's an all-hands-on-deck situation, it's interesting to see who really does get all their hands on deck.

And now, at 5:48 p.m., everyone is taking a deep breath. "NBC Action News" — which did finally get a crew on the scene but still looks woefully outmanned on this story — has moved on to sports. Fox 4 is doing the weather, about to throw to the sports anchor. Even KMBC has gone to weather and sports. KCTV-5, your CSI channel, kept the crime scene investigation going another two minutes, when weathercaster Katie Horner broke in to tell us what a nice day it was (but also apologized for breaking in).

At 5:54, KMBC is live with Sgt. Tony Sanders again before cutting out at 5:56 in order to bring you ... a taped editorial from KMBC general manager Wayne Godsey, decrying the "11th-hour shenanigans" of outgoing City Council members and urging the incoming mayor to investigate every decision made by lame-duck officials.

And then, at 6 o'clock sharp, it's back to regular programming. Prime time starts early on Sunday.

Comments

[anon]

"TERROR IN A METRO MALL!" KCTV screamed at 5; you'd have sworn Katie Horner was there.

[Kenny]

This aritcle is babble. It's not important who was there first or who interupted their broadcast to report it. What is important is the accuracy of your reporting and the victims involved, not who was or wasn't there first. Sensationalism is very inconsiderate.

I agree with one of the previous comments. It is absolutely ridiculous that they wrote about which news crew was on the scene first. This is a tragic story and I am stunned that anyone would devote half of an article to this topic.

[Anony.]

The point of the venue (TV Barn) is to discuss TV and coverage. What's obscene is that sports take precedence over a story like that.

[The DB]

It took some stones for Fox4 to break into the last laps of Talledega...I bet in Alabama they would'nt have done that. And they had a reporter on scene. Props to them.

[The DB]

I know the race winner was declared but as confusing as the end of the race was they could have waited like the others...

[Ted]

To the reporter outside the Target (who obviously doesn't live in KC), Bannister doesn't have a 13th Street. It is the 1300 block (just east of Troost).

[Aaron]

And I think I heard someone refer to an "Off Broadway Bookstore." But in the frenzy of things it was nice to see recent J-school grads stressing the difference between what they knew and what they didn't know.

DB, I knew who had won Talladega when Fox 4 broke in. The play-by-play guy had said, "It's over!" and had enough time to explain that the race would not be extended any further because of a crash and that Jeff Gordon had clearly won.

[Aaron]

On the national news front, CNN is covering the crime, using video from KCTV-5, and CNN's Rick Sanchez is talking to a security expert named Mike Brooks who has learned that (a) the Ward Parkway mall security force recently underwent extensive training for dealing with a shooter and (b) an off-duty police officer was the one who killed the shooter. His words of wisdom? "Whether you're at home, at work, at a sporting event -- don't be complacent. ... Don't walk around with your head stuck in the sand."

[Aaron]

Oh, and MSNBC is running documentaries and Fox seems not to be in breaking-news mode. It's running the features-heavy "Fox Report."

[Aaron]

And just as I say that, at 6:30 Fox News Channel is passing along a report from WDAF (which Fox owns) saying that a fourth person killed away from the mall has been linked to the rampage.

[mallwallker]

The Bannister Mall thugs are looking for other places, Oak Park mall could be next

[Anon]

It's sad that I am forced to watch a national network (CNN) to continue to get coverage on a local ordeal.

[AeroSquid]

"The Bannister Mall thugs are looking for other places, Oak Park mall could be next"

I hear Oak Park Mall is also in danger of a Zombie invasion!

/rolls eyes

Nice attempt to spread FUD.

[Aaron]

I too am struck by how the local news stations have opted to wait until 9 or 10 p.m. -- when their reporters will be reduced to standing outside a dark, taped-off, depopulated Ward Parkway Mall -- instead of continuing to cover this in some significant way on TV.

But at least their websites (and ours, by the way) are continuing to update the story.

[jack l. kennedy]

as someone fml with Wichita Eagle, Lincoln Nb Journal and two Joplin radio stations in news:
1--thought ch 4 did a good job, cautious, in a confusing situation.
==2 at 720pm the Star website story itself is preliminary/confusing...so this is better than tv job? hey, it is early.

[jack l. kennedy]

as someone fml with Wichita Eagle, Lincoln Nb Journal and two Joplin radio stations in news:
1--thought ch 4 did a good job, cautious, in a confusing situation.
==2 at 720pm the Star website story itself is preliminary/confusing...so this is better than tv job? hey, it is early.

[Brad]

CNN went wall to wall from 6pm to 6:40 on the rampage while the local stations went with network programming - ABC - America's Funniest Videos, CBS - 60 Minutes - Tenet's "no, it really wasn't a slam dunk" press tour, and NBC - Dateline - we reveal shocking video about something shocking that will shock you because its sweeps. Pathetic

But - I gotta give props to Katie Horner for acknowledging (during the regularly scheduled news) that they were just breaking away from the shootings briefly (so they could "allegedly" get more news) + Katie was squeezing in the weather. On some other local station (don't remember which), they had to cover the Royals latest game (Live, Late-Breaking, Earth-Shattering) where the Royals lost (which ain't news). Fox also went to the weather at about 5:10 - I don't blame the meterologist, but how does the producer justify putting the weather guy out there to say how great the weather was. At that point, the weather clearly was not news - they could have had it on a scroll at the bottom of the screen like they do during the morning news.

[The DB]

Aaron:

I agree, I walked in and turned on the tube just as they had the "Chevrolet Winning Moment" and Gordon had won, and the break-in by the news. I think Fox4 did a good job having a reporter there and live. Do you know if the news copters get pulled back in a situation like that? I would imagine in all of the confusion KCPD had their copter up, not knowing if there were other parties involved. Just wonder if "Nascar Nation" was calling into Fox4 at that time. Any explanation on why KSHB waited so long, and KMBC did a split screen?.

[Aaron]

Actually, the KCPD copter was up first, for the simple reason that they were looking for the shooter of the police officer. But the reality is these chopper operators all know each other and exercise great caution when hovering around a single scene.

Jack, I didn't say the Star did a better story. I said the TV stations were continuing to cover the story on their websites. For the record, it's 7:40 and WDAF, KMBC and KCTV-5 have video and long reported stories up on their websites. We have a story and no video. KSHB has no video and an AP wire story with this lamely tacked on at the end: "Watch NBC Action News for more on this developing story."

[The DB]

Looks like KSHB's website is only carrying the AP story on their "Breaking News" banner.

[The DB]

I see KSHB has video on it, but why do they have to run commercials on the video page before they give the story?

[Aaron]

They all do that. Where are you finding video?

[The DB]

on the right side of the page.

[Aaron]

oh, duh - that Flash thingy on the front page.