Honystye Chancellor’s phone started to ring off the hook with calls from worried family and friends around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday. She seemed to receive calls one after the other, one right after the other.
The upsetting news was that Jason McConnell, her stepfather, was shot while working as a security guard at the Klymax Lounge at 4242 Indiana Avenue. McConnell was 41 years old.
A tumultuous situation with several police officers and club patrons gathered in the neighborhood was taking place when Chancellor hurriedly arrived on the scene.
She parked her car a few blocks away and ran toward Klymax. Chancellor learned the heartbreaking news that her stepfather, who was working security at the entry that evening, was one of the three people who tragically lost their lives in the shooting incident by gathering information from the clubgoers there.
The event also resulted in the injuries of two additional people.
Eyewitnesses at the scene reportedly told Chancellor that popular local rapper Nutty Still Gassin’ had just finished performing and was about to leave the club when the shooting took place.
The victims of the event have not yet been identified by Kansas City police, but people present at the club were familiar with McConnell because of his approachable personality and capacity to interact with everyone.
He held a variety of occupations in the area, according to Chancellor, including managing a Cricket Wireless store, working as a security guard at Klymax, and serving at a Waffle House.
On Sunday morning, it was still unclear what had happened in the nightclub shooting. According to Officer Donna Drake, a representative for the Kansas City Police Department, officers were summoned to the location at around 1:25 a.m. due to the gunshot.
Tragically, one person died from their injuries shortly after being taken to the hospital, and two more were declared dead at the site. Two other people were hurt in the event, one of whom is in critical condition and the other of whom is in a stable condition at the hospital.
If certain conditions were met, the shooting might qualify as a mass shooting.