Missouri Gay Bar Possible Target of Hate Crime After Pellet Gun Shooting

Police in Missouri confirmed they are working with the FBI in the investigation of an alleged pellet gun shooting of a person outside an LGBTQ+ club in Kansas City this past weekend. The incident raised concerns about safety during Pride Month as the city’s Pride parade takes place this Saturday.

The alleged assault took place around 1 a.m. Sunday morning outside the Fountain Haus, a popular LGBTQ+ club in the city’s Westport neighborhood. An unidentified person said they were waiting in line to enter the club when they reported experiencing pain in their arm which they believed came from a pellet shot from a pellet gun. The person did not require medical attention.

The Kansas City Police Department confirmed to the Kansas City Starit is investigating the incident as a possible hate crime in cooperation with the FBI. A spokesperson for the KCPD also said the department is aware of the safety concerns of the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month.

“Our LGBTQ+ liaison officer has already been in touch with the management for the establishment,” Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesperson for the Kansas City Police Department, said. “They have discussed safety for the bar moving forward and he is keeping them in the loop on the investigation.”

Justin Short, formerly a commissioner with the Kansas City LGBTQ Commission, said he received an email from Jayson Morgan, a manager at Fountain Haus, discussing the alleged shooting. Short posted to social media a screenshot of the reported email.

“Tonight while we had a line from our Main (Broadway) entrance all the way down to the intersection of Broadway and Westport Road, Someone drove by with a BB Gun and shot up our whole line,” Morgan wrote in the email reportedly received by Short.

It was unclear if there are additional victims and no information was provided about potential suspects, but KCMO LGBTQ Commission Chair Justice Horn told local NBC affiliate KSHB he believes the target and timing of the alleged shooting was intentional.

“It was still meant to harm us, to create terror, and to make folks not feel at home here in Kansas City,” Horn told KSHB. “It’s definitely tough for people to show up in the community when this is what’s happening.”

In his email posted to social media, Fountain Haus manager Morgan echoed Horn’s concerns.

“Thank goodness nobody was hurt, but considering our proximity to Pride next weekend we must consider this a threat that can escalate,” Morgan wrote.

Anyone with information about the alleged shooting can call detectives at 816-234-5227 or use the anonymous TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.