A family-oriented community where everyone knows everyone. Thats how people describe the area around 10th Street and Central Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas, where four men were gunned down and five more injured at a modest, neighborhood bar early Sunday morning.
Itll never be the same. Itll never be the same in there, said an employee of Tequila KC, who only identified herself as Jody. She said most of the people in the bar Saturday night were regulars.
Four men Martin Rodriguez-Gonzales, 58; Alfredo Calderon, 29; Ebar Meza-Aguirre, 29, and Francisco Anaya-Garcia, 34 died in the shooting.
Authorities identified the suspected shooters as Hugo Villanueva-Morales and Javier Alatorre. Alatorre was arrested Sunday afternoon.
At a vigil Monday evening, more than a hundred people walked along Central Avenue from 13th Street to 10th Street, where they placed candles at the door of the bar.
Families of the four men who were killed in the shooting led the crowd to the bar. They wore white T-shirts with the faces of the victims and the words Rest in Peace, Kings.
An official with the Unified Government of Kansas City, Kansas, offered condolences.
For Eric Chavarria, who says he knew the men who were killed, those condolences felt hollow. Speaking in Spanish, he said Hispanic communities are used to hearing apologies.
People come and they say, Sorry, sorry. How many tragedies have happened and they always say the same and dont do anything, Chavarria said.
He said its time to take action.
Get going and do something good, he said. No guns, no guns, no guns.
Seventeen-year-old Elysia Najera says one of the victims, Alfredo Calderon, is a member of her family. She carried a sign that said end gun violence. She wants government officials to listen to her communitys pleas to curb violent crime.
I feel like were saying what needs to be said, but, like, were speaking up and nobody is listening or taking action to help the gun control and all that, she said.
Still, she said the community will rally around one another for comfort.
For area businesses, a blow to their reputation
Earlier Monday, businesses opened for the first time since the shooting. For many, it was business as usual. But some shop owners said things felt different Monday morning.
Something broke, Josefina Saenz said in Spanish. Saenz owns seafood restaurant El Pirata, just a block from Tequila KC.
