© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Basketball League Regroups After Violent Incident

Athletic Director Manuel Hernandez in the Sacred Heart Gym. Photo by Sylvia Maria Gross / KCUR.

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-819752.mp3

A week ago on Friday night, a group of people burst into a community basketball game at Tony Aguirre Community Center on Kansas City's West Side - and just started shooting. Five people were injured, none of them seriously, but the hundred or so people gathered to watch the teenagers play basketball were shocked. The event was part of a league organized by the Guadalupe Center, and it draws kids from throughout the city.

Police say none of the young people playing basketball had anything to do with the violence. They believe it was a group from outside the neighborhood going after someone who was in the audience. But, parents are frightened, and the high school leagues' games were temporarily suspended. Guadalupe Center Athletic Director Manuel Hernandez says the leagues are doing young people a lot of good, and hopes the games will resume. KC Currents' Sylvia Maria Gross caught up with Hernandez at the Sacred Heart Gym, on the West Side.

This story was produced for KC Currents. To listen on your own schedule, subscribe to the KC Currents Podcast.

Sylvia Maria Gross is storytelling editor at KCUR 89.3. Reach her on Twitter @pubradiosly.
KCUR serves the Kansas City region with breaking news and award-winning podcasts.
Your donation helps keep nonprofit journalism free and available for everyone.