<img src="https://newshub.eagleradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-15-at-9.06.34-AM-300x282.png" height="282" width="300"> Police on the scene of the crash investigation photo <a href="https://www.kctv5.com/news/local_news/child-injured-after-car-crashes-into-belton-home/article_16262e7a-075a-11ea-b31b-0fc90ed75196.htmlhttps://www.kctv5.com/news/local_news/child-injured-after-car-crashes-into-belton-home/article_16262e7a-075a-11ea-b31b-0fc90ed75196.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">courtesy KCTV</a> BELTON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say a driver fled after crashing into a suburban Kansas City home and seriously injuring an 8-year-old child who was inside the home. The&nbsp;suspected driver was arrested shortly after the crash was reported around 8:15 p.m. Thursday in Belton. Police say the child was taken to a hospital with injuries that are believed to be serious. No one else was hurt. The crash is under investigation. Police have not released the driver's name.

Driver flees after crash into home, hurting 8-year-old

<img src="https://newshub.eagleradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-15-at-5.47.30-AM-239x300.png" height="300" width="239"> Huggins photo Shawnee CountySHAWNEE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting that left two dead and have a suspect in custody. Just before 3:30p.m. Tuesday, police responded to a&nbsp;shooting at a home in 2400 block of SE Maryland in Topeka.&nbsp;&nbsp;Upon arrival, officers located two individuals identified as&nbsp;as 15-year-old Owen M. Hughes and 21-year-old Reginald L. McKinney Jr., both of Topeka suffering from life-threating injuries, according to Lt. Andrew Beightel. Both were pronounced dead by medical personnel on scene. On Thursday police arrested Larry D. Huggins III, 19, of Topeka in connection with this investigation, according to Lt. Jennifer Cross. Huggins was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on charges of murder, aggravated burglary, and attempted aggravated robbery.

Suspect arrested for alleged murder of 2 at Kansas home

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are instigating an aggravated assault and have made an arrest. <img src="https://newshub.eagleradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-14-at-6.32.52-AM-300x221.png" height="221" width="300"> Munoz-Yepez photo Shawnee Co. Just after 3p.m. Wednesday, the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office Fugitive Warrant Unit attempted to locate a suspect for an arrest warrant at a residence in the 500 block of NE Emmett in Topeka, according to Sgt. Todd Stallbaumer.&nbsp; The suspect identified as Luis Munoz-Yepez, 43, Topeka, crawled into a basement crawl space in the residence. Three hours later, deputies arrested Munoz-Yepez without further incident. He is being held in the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on an arrest warrant for aggravated assault, according to Stallbaumer.

Kan. assault suspect found hiding in basement crawl space

<img src="https://newshub.eagleradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-15-at-5.26.46-AM-300x230.png" height="230" width="300"> Morgan photo <a href="https://eaglepost.netlify.com/dashboard/jc/posts/5dce8d23897d147ad4bb0dcb">Guadalupe County Adult Detention Center</a> RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities in Riley County are investigating an alleged sex crime and have a suspect in custody. On Thursday, the Riley County Police Department reported deputies in Texas arrested 41-year-old Sean Morgan in New Braunfels, Texas on a Riley County District Court Warrant for rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, attempted rape, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual battery.&nbsp; He remains jailed on a $200,000 bond in Guadalupe County, Texas awaiting extradition, according to the RCPD and online jail records.

RCPD: Rape suspect arrested in Texas

<img src="https://newshub.eagleradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-14-at-4.02.30-PM-300x253.png" height="253" width="300"> Stacey photo Pawnee County PAWNEE COUNTY– Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man on sex crime allegations.On Thursday, Michael Patrick Stacey, 19, Larned, Kansas, appeared in custody in Pawnee County and was charged with rape and battery, according to Pawnee CountyAttorney Doug McNett.&nbsp;The crimes involve a single incident alleged to have occurred in Pawnee County on October 25, 2019.&nbsp; The Larned Police Department handled the investigation. If convicted, under the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines Stacey faces a presumptive prison sentence between 147 months and 653 months in the custody of the Department of Corrections depending on his criminal history. Stacey was arrested on November 12, 2019, without incident and is being held in the custody of the Pawnee County Sheriff in lieu of $100,000 bond, according to McNett.

Kansas man held on $100K bond for alleged rape

<a href="https://www.hayspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/James-Arnold.jpg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.hayspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/James-Arnold.jpg" height="400" width="700"></a>Preston Wolf, left, helps James Arnold secure the door to his shelter outside of Wolf's Furniture in Hays. By CRISTINA JANNEYHays PostHAYS — James Arnold has been given notice to leave the only home he knows — a makeshift encampment behind Wolf's Furniture in Hays.If you weren't looking for it, you probably won't see it. The encampment is made out of shipping pallets, sheets of plastic and cardboard. The makeshift shelter has just enough space for James to crawl into for the night. He has a small space heater that kept his hideaway warm even as the temperature dipped into the single digits this week.He has squirreled away a few possessions — dishes and a few household items he hoped to use to start a new life in his own apartment — in a couple truck toolboxes. He recently adopted a mother cat who took advantage of the warmth of his shelter to have her kittens. Preston Wolf, owner of Wolf Furniture and James' friend, received a letter on Oct. 30 from the City of Hays Planning Inspection and Enforcement Department saying James could no longer stay in his encampment because the area was not zoned for residential use. Wolf was given until Friday to have James out.James, who has been homeless for 16 years, wants to stay in Hays. His face tells the tale of those years, mostly lived in similar makeshift shelters. A long white beard stretches halfway down his tall, lean frame. The heavy lines in his weather-worn face make him appear much older than his 57 years. James has been in Hays for the last year and half, working odd jobs, hoping to save up enough money to get an apartment of his own. Wolf befriended James. He helped him apply for and receive a new ID and Social Security card, which took almost a year.Although James said he prefers his encampment, Wolf put James up in a hotel last winter at his own expense. James said he doesn't want to keep taking advantage of Wolf's kindness."I can stay back there and it doesn't cost him as much money. ... I'm homeless. I'm used to this stuff back here by now," James said. "The first three or four years I wouldn't have made it, but now it's been 15 years and I'm used to it. It doesn't bother me as bad. He's so nice. I'm not going to let him spend that much money on me this winter. I'd rather stay back there if he'll let me and do it cheaper and save more money."This guy's like a gift — like a banker, but I don't want to abuse him," James said. James said he has made a connection with people in Hays. "I have people who I like now and a lot of people I enjoy being around," he said. <a href="https://www.hayspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/James-Arnold-inside.jpg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.hayspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/James-Arnold-inside.jpg" height="400" width="700"></a>The inside of James' shelter. There is just enough room to crawl in and lie down.James appears to have no family ties or support system outside of what Wolf has offered him here in Hays. He has mentioned an ex-wife and kids, but James' mind wanders from one grandiose topic to the next. It's hard to nail down a history and tell what is truth and what is fantasy. Wolf said he suspects he might have mental health issues.Wolf expressed great distress about what might happen to James after Friday. James said he plans to hitchhike to another encampment up north, but Wolf has tried to dissuade him. "It's just a field," Wolf said. James has COPD, a lung condition, which means he is winded easily. Wolf said he doesn't think James will last long out on the road. "If he leaves here, he is probably going to die because he has no place to go and no help," Wolf said. "If there was someplace he could go where he would have a roof over his head ... We understand that is not the ideal out there." "It's not harming me," James said of his Hays encampment. "If he ain't mad about, it ain't harming me. I have been saving a little money."<h3>Few resources in Hays for homeless</h3><a href="https://www.hayspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/James-Arnold-2.jpg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.hayspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/James-Arnold-2.jpg" height="400" width="700"></a>The City of Hays says James Arnold can no longer stay in this makeshift shelter behind Wolf's Furniture because it is not zoned for residential use.Linda Mills, director of First Call for Help, which helps transients in the community, said Hays unfortunately has little to no resources for a person in James' predicament."It's frustrating," Mills said. "The thought of someone sleeping outside when it was a cold as it was last night ... I couldn't do it."There are housing programs for veterans, but the veterans have to have proof of service. Hays also has a housing program for people who have mental illness, but recipients must have a diagnosed mental illness and meet other criteria to qualify. Hays has no homeless shelter. <a href="https://www.hayspost.com/2019/07/30/first-call-for-help-launches-housing-fundraising-campaign-2/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First Call for Help is working on a project to build a transitional housing unit in its current building at 607 E. 13th</a>.However, that housing will not be available anytime soon. The organization has raised $43,000 toward the renovation project. About $25,000 of that money was used to remodel the supply distribution area, which is now complete. First Call needs $215,000 to remodel the rear of its building into transitional living areas for its new First Step housing program.&nbsp;Now that First Call has a firm bid in hand, it hopes to start applying for grants for the project. You can donate to that project by <a href="http://firstcallelliscounty.com/First-Step-Housing-Campaign" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">clicking here</a>.Even if the transitional housing project was ready, Mills said James would likely not qualify for the program because he has not been able to hold down steady work. In addition to his COPD, which makes it difficult for him to do physical labor, his mind tends to wonder, Wolf said."I definitely don't mind him staying there," Wolf said. "He causes no problems. What we were trying to when we got his ID and his Social Security card, we were try to get him a job at Walmart or someplace. The ideal thing was to try to get him back into society to find a little one-bedroom apartment or something. We are trying. We just haven't got that — with the job application. I don't know if James could work eight straight hours."Mills said James might qualify for disability, but that process can take months or even years. Initial applications are often denied and applicants have to appeal and even employ an attorney to secure disability payments."If he doesn't want to leave Hays, I'm not sure unless people are willing to set up a GoFundMe or something and match what he has saved up to get into an apartment," Mills said. "But even if he gets into an apartment, how is he going to pay for the rent month to month? It probably doesn't makes sense to raise money to get him into the apartment unless they are going to raise money to keep him in the apartment because he'll get evicted."Mills said the best First Call could do for James is to offer him a bus ticket to Salina, the location of the nearest men's shelter. James said he has been in shelters in Denver and Wichita, and said they were like being in prison. He doesn't want to go. <h3>It's the law</h3>Curtis Deines, superintendent of Planning Inspection Enforcement, said Arnold's situation was unfortunate and he hoped Arnold would be OK, but he had to follow the law. He said the city had worked with Wolf to try to resolve the situation, noting it's Wolf's obligation as the property owner to remove Arnold from the property, according to Deines.Deines said the the city was first made aware of Arnold's encampment when police were called to the area because of a civil disturbance involving Arnold. He allegedly pulled a knife, threatened another individual and was arrested."I know it can seem like the city is going after somebody, and that is not the case," Deines said. "There was an unfortunate event there and that prompted the situation."Wolf described James as mild-mannered and said he has never had any issues with him since he took up residence behind the store. James doesn't drink or use drugs. James said he just wants the city to leave him alone until summer comes and he can move to his encampment up north — home.Wolf said, "We just don't know what to do. That's what it boils down to."

Hays forces homeless man out: 'He is probably going to die,' friend says

<a href="https://salinapost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-13-at-2.05.59-PM.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://salinapost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-13-at-2.05.59-PM-300x253.png" height="253" width="300"></a>Pierce Jackson photo Sedgwick County SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting that left a Kansas man dead and have made another arrest. At approximately 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19, officers responded to a shooting call in the 4600 block of east Boston in Wichita, according to office Charley Davidson.&nbsp;Upon arrival, first responders found 33-year-old Jerome Armbeck in an open field with multiple gunshot wounds to his body. A WPD officer began rendering life-saving aid until Sedgwick County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrived. Armbeck was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigatigators learned a disturbance occurred between Armbeck, 18-year-old Pierce Jackson, 20-year-old Marcus Lamar and a 17-year-old boy in the 4600 block of east Boston when a suspect fired multiple times from a firearm, striking Armbeck. On Tuesday, the Wichita Police Department arrested Jackson in Dallas, Texas, on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery and an outstanding warrant, stemming from the shooting. He is being held on a $500,000 bond, according <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20064075" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">to online jail records.</a> This is the third arrest in this case. Wichita police previously arrested Lamar and the 17-year-old boy. This was not a random incident, and is drug related, according to Davidson. The case has been presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.

Suspect in fatal Kansas drug deal shooting captured in Texas

<a href="https://salinapost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-13-at-2.41.20-PM.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://salinapost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-13-at-2.41.20-PM-300x218.png" height="218" width="300"></a> Calmes photo KDOC RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after a Tuesday arrest. Just after 1p.m. Tuesday, police&nbsp;filed a report for burglary, aggravated assault and criminal damage to property in the 1400 block of Normandy Place in Manhattan, according to the Riley County Police Department Activity report.A 31-year-old man reported a known male suspect stole copper pipe and gained access to storage units in the area, causing damage. Police arrested Ryan Calmes, 30, of Manhattan in the 700 block of North Juliette on requested charges of aggravated assault, aggravated burglary and criminal damage to property.&nbsp;Calmes has previous convictions that include DUI, flee and or attempt to elude law enforcement, driving while suspended and for drugs, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections. In March, the RCPD arrested Calmes on drug allegation. They arrested him in September for alleged shoplifting and drugs. He is being held on a $50,000 bond.

Kansas felon held on $50K bond for alleged assault, burglary

<a href="https://salinapost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-08-at-5.08.16-AM.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://salinapost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-08-at-5.08.16-AM-300x226.png" height="226" width="300"></a> Garrett photo Sedgwick County SEDGWICK COUNTY — An 18-year-old Kansas man accused in a fatal shooting of a 15-year-old due to a social media dispute will make a first appearance in court Wednesday.&nbsp;Malick Garrett is scheduled to appear before Judge Rodger Woods, according to to the Sedgwick County Attorney. Just after 6p.m. November 6, police responded to report of a shooting in the 1400 Block of North Ohio Street in Wichita, according to Captain Brent Allred. At the scene, police located a 15-year-old later identified as Marion Wheaton who had been shot in his upper body. EMS transported him to a local hospital where he died. On November 7, police reported the arrest of 18-year-old Malick Garrett of Wichita on a requested charge of 2nd degree murder and outstanding warrants in connection with Wheaton's death. Investigators have learned that Wheaton and two teenage friends walked to the area to meet with a 15-year-old boy and other unknown individuals to fight over an ongoing dispute that involved social media, according to Allred. As Wheaton and his friends walked in the area, they were approached by a vehicle.&nbsp;A 15-year-old male and Garrett exited the vehicle.&nbsp;Garrett fired multiple shots from a handgun, striking Wheaton. This was not a random incident, according to Allred. Multiple handguns were recovered during the investigation. It is the 24th criminal homicide in Wichita in 2019.

Kansas man in alleged social media dispute killing to appear in court

RENO COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Reno County woman on child sex allegations. <a href="https://salinapost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-13-at-12.09.57-PM.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://salinapost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-13-at-12.09.57-PM-285x300.png" height="300" width="285"></a> Leticia Carrillo photo Reno Co. Just after 1:30p.m. Tuesday, deputies arrested Leticia M. Carrillo, 27, Sylvia on requested charges of two counts of Aggravated Indecent Liberties with a Child, according to a media release from the Reno County Sheriff. The victim in this case is a 15-year-old boy. The investigation stemmed from a sexting case that occurred in Reno County. Through the investigation it was determined Carrillo had sexual intercourse with this victim on two separate occasions, both of them occurring in Reno County. Carrillo is being held in the Reno County Correctional Facility on a $50,000 bond, and awaits her court appearance.&nbsp;

Sheriff: Kansas woman accused of sex crime with 15-year-old

<img src="https://newshub.eagleradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-12-at-7.15.18-PM.png" height="163" width="272"> Odom photo Jefferson Co. JEFFERSON COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man for alleged child abuse. Just before noon Sunday, deputies responded to report of a child in cardiac arrest in the 100 Block of South Cedar Street in Perry, according to Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Herrig. First responders located a 3-year-old girl and transported her to Children’s Mercy in Kansas City. Deputies arrested 23-year-old Zachary Odom and booked him into the Jefferson County jail on a requested charge of child abuse. Odom is expected to make his first court appearance Wednesday. He remains jailed without bond. The child is expected to make a full recovery, according to Herrig.

Sheriff: Child hospitalized, Kansas man accused of child abuse

By Dewey TerrillJC PostThe new regional crisis center that is based at 1558 Hayes Drive in Manhattan and serves a 10-county region opened on Nov. 4th. It is a 24 hour, seven-day a week facility that has 23 employees ranging from a director and therapists to mental health technicians. Pawnee Mental Health Services Executive Director Robbin Cole told the members of the Geary County Commission on Tuesday that this is an outpatient facility service where people being treated spend the night. Admission is voluntary for patients, and they’re free to leave if they do not want to remain in the facility. Cole noted that if someone has committed a crime the crisis center is not an appropriate place for them and if they are arrested they will be put in jail. Also, if healthcare is required it is not an appropriate facility for the patient. There are seven patients in the center right now, and that has been a consistent number since the third day after the 11-bed facility&nbsp;opened.&nbsp;One patient was being taken to the center from Geary County Tuesday afternoon. Cole wanted to explain the value of&nbsp;the facility to the governing body. “What I’m finding out is that commissioners generally seem to understand what it’s value is. It’s a facility that can reduce the number of people who are in our hospital’s emergency room in a mental health crisis by providing an alternative to that hospital emergency room” Cole also added that because the center can intervene in people’s lives earlier rather than later it can reduce the number of people who commit a crime during an acute mental illness.

New regional crisis center is open for business

<img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573653639860.jpeg">Geary County Office Building, site of the Tuesday county commission meeting. By DEWEY TERRILLJC PostThe new regional crisis center that is based at 1558 Hayes Drive in Manhattan and serves a 10-county region opened on Nov. 4th. It is a 24 hour, seven-day a week facility that has 23 employees ranging from a director and therapists to mental health technicians. Pawnee Mental Health Services Executive Director Robbin Cole told the members of the Geary County Commission on Tuesday that this is an outpatient facility service where people being treated spend the night. Admission is voluntary for patients, and they’re free to leave if they do not want to remain in the facility. Cole noted that if someone has committed a crime the crisis center is not an appropriate place for them and if they are arrested they will be put in jail. Also, if healthcare is required it is not an appropriate facility for the patient. There are seven patients in the center right now, and that has been a consistent number since the third day after the 11-bed facility&nbsp;opened.&nbsp;One patient was being taken to the center from Geary County Tuesday afternoon. Cole wanted to explain the value of&nbsp;the facility to the governing body. “What I’m finding out is that commissioners generally seem to understand what it’s value is. It’s a facility that can reduce the number of people who are in our hospital’s emergency room in a mental health crisis by providing an alternative to that hospital emergency room” Cole also added that because the center can intervene in people’s lives earlier rather than later it can reduce the number of people who commit a crime during an acute mental illness.

SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on theft charges after an arrest by the Kansas Highway Patrol.<img src="http://www.jcpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-12-at-12.23.47-PM-212x300.png" width="212" height="300">Watson photo Saline Co. Just after 2:30p.m. Friday, employees with Lowe’s in Salina were making a delivery&nbsp;in the 300 block of West South Street in Salina and left the truck running so they could use the power lift, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester. When the employees came out of the residence, the 17-foot 2016 Isuzu box truck with $400 worth of tools, a $1,000 black LG refrigerator, and a company cellphone still on board was missing. A couple of hours later, a&nbsp;Kansas Highway Patrol trooper spotted the truck headed westbound on Interstate 70 just west of the Hedville exit. The trooper stopped the truck and arrested Carlo Watson, 53, of San Francisco, Calif., on suspicion of felony theft and operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license, Forrester said. All property was returned undamaged.

Police: Man stole truck while employees made home delivery

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The man accused of firing the first shots at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-super-bowl-parade-shooting-kansas-city-62e69a17b469b854afd7bcc3f548d1fc">Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rally</a>&nbsp;told authorities he felt threatened, while a second man said he pulled the trigger because someone was shooting at him, according to court documents.

Experts say that even though the shooting left one bystander dead and roughly two dozen people injured, 23-year-old Lyndell Mays and 18-year-old Dominic Miller might have good cases for self-defense through the state’s “stand your ground” law.

Missouri is among more than 30 states that have adopted some version of stand your ground laws over the past two decades, said Robert Spitzer, a professor emeritus of political science at the State University of New York, Cortland, whose research focuses on gun policy and politics. While earlier laws allowed people to use force to protect themselves in their homes, stand your ground provides even broader self-defense rights regardless of the location.

Now, the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebration could be a new test of those expanded protections, and comes as self-defense already is at the center of another&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ralph-yarl/">high-profile Kansas City shooting</a>&nbsp;that left Ralph Yarl wounded.

“This illustrates in a dramatic way the fundamental problem, especially when it’s a public gathering where there are thousands and thousands of people, and even a highly trained police officer often cannot avoid injuring others in a gunfire exchange in a public place,” said Spitzer, who wrote the book “Guns Across America: Reconciling Gun Rules and Rights.”

Trial attorney Daniel Ross described the stand your ground law as a “formidable defense” that he and many other Kansas City defense attorneys anticipate will be used in Mays' and Miller's cases. He said the law puts the onus on the prosecution to disprove claims that a shooting is lawful self-defense.

“Collateral damage under Missouri law is excused if you’re actually engaged in lawful self-defense and there’s other folks injured,” he said.

There are limits to the defense, however, said Eric Ruben, a law professor at the S.M.U. Dedman School of Law in Dallas who has written on stand your ground and self-defense immunity.

“Even though Missouri has robust stand-your-ground laws, that doesn’t mean you can spray bullets into a crowd in the name of defending yourself or others,” Ruben said.

The barrage of gunfire Feb. 14 outside Kansas City’s historic Union Station happened as the celebration that drew an estimated 1 million fans was concluding. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-super-bowl-parade-shooting-kansas-city-62e69a17b469b854afd7bcc3f548d1fc">woman died</a>&nbsp;while watching the rally with her family, and nearly two dozen others — more than half of them children — were injured and survived.

Kansas City already was grappling with the shooting of Yarl, a Black teenager, who survived a bullet wound to the head when he went to the wrong house in April 2023 to pick up his brothers. Andrew Lester, an 85-year-old white man, is planning to claim&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-wichita-topeka-legislature-gun-politics-6f61a926a56353a4b22ffecf90c46be3">self-defense</a>&nbsp;when he goes to trial in October. His attorney said the retiree was terrified by the stranger on his doorstep.

While the Super Bowl celebration shooting was a far different scenario, it raises anew questions about how far people can go to protect themselves and what happens when the innocent become victims.

Mays and Miller are each charged with second-degree murder and other counts.

Probable cause statements suggest that both men felt threatened. Mays said he picked out one person in a group at random and started shooting because they said, “I'm going to get you,” and he took that to mean, “I'm going to kill you,” the statement said.

Miller said under questioning that he fired four or five times because someone was shooting at him. His friend, Marques Harris, told&nbsp;<a href="https://fox4kc.com/news/friend-says-chiefs-parade-shooting-suspect-was-only-protecting-him/">WDAF-TV</a>&nbsp;that Miller was only trying to protect him after he was shot in the neck.

Miller’s attorney didn’t return phone and email messages seeking comment. No attorney was listed for Mays in online court records.

Two juveniles also face&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-super-bowl-parade-shooting-kansas-city-278e2d3e2cfece1cbe958511e54127ad">gun-related and resisting arrest</a>&nbsp;charges.

Missouri has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-super-bowl-parade-shooting-kansas-city-938583b1e9aa3b3a45f8a012e7b80fee">few firearm regulations</a>, and two of its cities — Kansas City and St. Louis — annually have among the nation's highest homicide rates. Missouri’s current Republican lawmakers have largely defended the state’s gun laws, instead blaming prosecutors and other local elected officials in the two cities.

And Republican Gov. Mike Parson, speaking to reporters last week, cited societal problems — not guns — as the reason for the violence. “I believe it's much more than a gun," he said.

When&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/missouri-lawmakers-loosen-gun-laws-back-voter-photo-id-c973268d37704b9b9b221e59c5b5dc7d?utm_source=copy&amp;utm_medium=share">Republican lawmakers in 2016</a>&nbsp;expanded the state's already-extensive self-defense protections by enacting the current stand your ground law, Black Missouri lawmakers raised concerns. The law also allowed most adults to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/missouri-lawmakers-loosen-gun-laws-back-voter-photo-id-c973268d37704b9b9b221e59c5b5dc7d?utm_source=copy&amp;utm_medium=share">carry concealed guns</a>&nbsp;without a permit.

Racial disparities are rife among those who invoke the defense, with an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/american-criminal-justice-color-blind-statistics-say-no">Urban Institute</a>&nbsp;study showing white shooters are more likely to benefit than Black defendants.

The issue was raised when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ahmaud-arbery-shootings-george-floyd-race-and-ethnicity-police-e063accd716fa3d0ee5f175163c0c5cb">Kyle Rittenhouse</a>, a white teen, was acquitted of killing two people and wounding a third during a 2020 protest against racism and police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after testifying he acted in self-defense. Rittenhouse’s actions became a flashpoint in the debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice in the U.S.

The shooting death of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/trayvon-martin">Trayvon Martin</a>, a Black 17-year-old, by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/george-zimmerman">George Zimmerman</a>&nbsp;also spurred concerns about stand your ground laws. Zimmerman, a self-appointed neighborhood watchman who thought Martin looked suspicious, wasn’t arrested for 44 days after the Feb. 26, 2012, shooting as police in Sanford, Florida, insisted that Florida’s stand your ground law prohibited charges.

Zimmerman was eventually arrested and charged, but his attorneys chose not to pursue a stand your ground claim, which could have resulted in the dismissal of murder changes as well as immunity from prosecution. But during the trial, the law was essentially used as part of his self-defense argument. Jurors found him not guilty.

In Georgia, which also has a stand your ground law, three white men accused of fatally shooting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-ahmaud-arberys-killing-spurred-a-national-reckoning-on-race">Ahmaud Arbery</a>&nbsp;in 2020 claimed self-defense. Travis McMichael, his father Greg McMichael and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan claimed they chased Arbery, who was Black, because they thought he was a burglar. All three were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/watch-live-three-men-convicted-of-the-murder-of-ahmaud-arbery-will-be-sentenced-for-the-killing">convicted of murder</a>.

In 2022, Wichita, Kansas, area district attorney Marc Bennett was critical of the state’s stand your ground law when he announced that he wouldn’t file charges over the death of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wichita-kansas-a51f619b8b196987e74b046ac399680c">Cedric Lofton</a>, a Black 17-year-old who was restrained facedown for more than 30 minutes at a juvenile detention center. Bennett said the law prevented him from bringing charges because staff members were protecting themselves.

With the Chiefs parade case unfolding, it is time to look anew at these laws, said Melba Pearson, a former homicide prosecutor who is now the director of prosecution projects at the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University.

“What are truly the limits in terms of stand your ground and what really falls into the category of self-defense?" she asked. "Do we need to revisit what stand your ground looks like?”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708018861457.jpeg" alt="FILE photo-Police clear the area following a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs NFL football Super Bowl celebration in Kansas City(AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)." />
 <figcaption>FILE photo-Police clear the area following a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs NFL football Super Bowl celebration in Kansas City(AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann).</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The man accused of firing the first shots at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-super-bowl-parade-shooting-kansas-city-62e69a17b469b854afd7bcc3f548d1fc">Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rally</a>&nbsp;told authorities he felt threatened, while a second man said he pulled the trigger because someone was shooting at him, according to court documents.Experts say that even though the shooting left one bystander dead and roughly two dozen people injured, 23-year-old Lyndell Mays and 18-year-old Dominic Miller might have good cases for self-defense through the state’s “stand your ground” law.Missouri is among more than 30 states that have adopted some version of stand your ground laws over the past two decades, said Robert Spitzer, a professor emeritus of political science at the State University of New York, Cortland, whose research focuses on gun policy and politics. While earlier laws allowed people to use force to protect themselves in their homes, stand your ground provides even broader self-defense rights regardless of the location.Now, the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebration could be a new test of those expanded protections, and comes as self-defense already is at the center of another&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ralph-yarl/">high-profile Kansas City shooting</a>&nbsp;that left Ralph Yarl wounded.“This illustrates in a dramatic way the fundamental problem, especially when it’s a public gathering where there are thousands and thousands of people, and even a highly trained police officer often cannot avoid injuring others in a gunfire exchange in a public place,” said Spitzer, who wrote the book “Guns Across America: Reconciling Gun Rules and Rights.”Trial attorney Daniel Ross described the stand your ground law as a “formidable defense” that he and many other Kansas City defense attorneys anticipate will be used in Mays' and Miller's cases. He said the law puts the onus on the prosecution to disprove claims that a shooting is lawful self-defense.“Collateral damage under Missouri law is excused if you’re actually engaged in lawful self-defense and there’s other folks injured,” he said.There are limits to the defense, however, said Eric Ruben, a law professor at the S.M.U. Dedman School of Law in Dallas who has written on stand your ground and self-defense immunity.“Even though Missouri has robust stand-your-ground laws, that doesn’t mean you can spray bullets into a crowd in the name of defending yourself or others,” Ruben said.The barrage of gunfire Feb. 14 outside Kansas City’s historic Union Station happened as the celebration that drew an estimated 1 million fans was concluding. A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-super-bowl-parade-shooting-kansas-city-62e69a17b469b854afd7bcc3f548d1fc">woman died</a>&nbsp;while watching the rally with her family, and nearly two dozen others — more than half of them children — were injured and survived.Kansas City already was grappling with the shooting of Yarl, a Black teenager, who survived a bullet wound to the head when he went to the wrong house in April 2023 to pick up his brothers. Andrew Lester, an 85-year-old white man, is planning to claim&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-wichita-topeka-legislature-gun-politics-6f61a926a56353a4b22ffecf90c46be3">self-defense</a>&nbsp;when he goes to trial in October. His attorney said the retiree was terrified by the stranger on his doorstep.While the Super Bowl celebration shooting was a far different scenario, it raises anew questions about how far people can go to protect themselves and what happens when the innocent become victims.Mays and Miller are each charged with second-degree murder and other counts.Probable cause statements suggest that both men felt threatened. Mays said he picked out one person in a group at random and started shooting because they said, “I'm going to get you,” and he took that to mean, “I'm going to kill you,” the statement said.Miller said under questioning that he fired four or five times because someone was shooting at him. His friend, Marques Harris, told&nbsp;<a href="https://fox4kc.com/news/friend-says-chiefs-parade-shooting-suspect-was-only-protecting-him/">WDAF-TV</a>&nbsp;that Miller was only trying to protect him after he was shot in the neck.Miller’s attorney didn’t return phone and email messages seeking comment. No attorney was listed for Mays in online court records.Two juveniles also face&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-super-bowl-parade-shooting-kansas-city-278e2d3e2cfece1cbe958511e54127ad">gun-related and resisting arrest</a>&nbsp;charges.Missouri has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-super-bowl-parade-shooting-kansas-city-938583b1e9aa3b3a45f8a012e7b80fee">few firearm regulations</a>, and two of its cities — Kansas City and St. Louis — annually have among the nation's highest homicide rates. Missouri’s current Republican lawmakers have largely defended the state’s gun laws, instead blaming prosecutors and other local elected officials in the two cities.And Republican Gov. Mike Parson, speaking to reporters last week, cited societal problems — not guns — as the reason for the violence. “I believe it's much more than a gun," he said.When&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/missouri-lawmakers-loosen-gun-laws-back-voter-photo-id-c973268d37704b9b9b221e59c5b5dc7d?utm_source=copy&amp;utm_medium=share">Republican lawmakers in 2016</a>&nbsp;expanded the state's already-extensive self-defense protections by enacting the current stand your ground law, Black Missouri lawmakers raised concerns. The law also allowed most adults to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/missouri-lawmakers-loosen-gun-laws-back-voter-photo-id-c973268d37704b9b9b221e59c5b5dc7d?utm_source=copy&amp;utm_medium=share">carry concealed guns</a>&nbsp;without a permit.Racial disparities are rife among those who invoke the defense, with an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/american-criminal-justice-color-blind-statistics-say-no">Urban Institute</a>&nbsp;study showing white shooters are more likely to benefit than Black defendants.The issue was raised when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ahmaud-arbery-shootings-george-floyd-race-and-ethnicity-police-e063accd716fa3d0ee5f175163c0c5cb">Kyle Rittenhouse</a>, a white teen, was acquitted of killing two people and wounding a third during a 2020 protest against racism and police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after testifying he acted in self-defense. Rittenhouse’s actions became a flashpoint in the debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice in the U.S.The shooting death of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/trayvon-martin">Trayvon Martin</a>, a Black 17-year-old, by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/george-zimmerman">George Zimmerman</a>&nbsp;also spurred concerns about stand your ground laws. Zimmerman, a self-appointed neighborhood watchman who thought Martin looked suspicious, wasn’t arrested for 44 days after the Feb. 26, 2012, shooting as police in Sanford, Florida, insisted that Florida’s stand your ground law prohibited charges.Zimmerman was eventually arrested and charged, but his attorneys chose not to pursue a stand your ground claim, which could have resulted in the dismissal of murder changes as well as immunity from prosecution. But during the trial, the law was essentially used as part of his self-defense argument. Jurors found him not guilty.In Georgia, which also has a stand your ground law, three white men accused of fatally shooting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-ahmaud-arberys-killing-spurred-a-national-reckoning-on-race">Ahmaud Arbery</a>&nbsp;in 2020 claimed self-defense. Travis McMichael, his father Greg McMichael and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan claimed they chased Arbery, who was Black, because they thought he was a burglar. All three were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/watch-live-three-men-convicted-of-the-murder-of-ahmaud-arbery-will-be-sentenced-for-the-killing">convicted of murder</a>.In 2022, Wichita, Kansas, area district attorney Marc Bennett was critical of the state’s stand your ground law when he announced that he wouldn’t file charges over the death of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/wichita-kansas-a51f619b8b196987e74b046ac399680c">Cedric Lofton</a>, a Black 17-year-old who was restrained facedown for more than 30 minutes at a juvenile detention center. Bennett said the law prevented him from bringing charges because staff members were protecting themselves.With the Chiefs parade case unfolding, it is time to look anew at these laws, said Melba Pearson, a former homicide prosecutor who is now the director of prosecution projects at the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University.“What are truly the limits in terms of stand your ground and what really falls into the category of self-defense?" she asked. "Do we need to revisit what stand your ground looks like?”