Kansas City Police announced Thursday that two juvenile male suspects are being investigated in connection with the homicide of popular Irish chef and Kansas City Irish Fest organizer Shaun Brady, who was fatally shot while trying to intervene in a possible car burglary.
Brady, 44, was the co-owner of Brady & Fox Restaurant and Lounge. He was shot about 5:18 p.m. Wednesday at 63rd Street and Rockhill Road, near his restaurant.
“Preliminary investigation revealed the victim was taking out trash when he observed multiple subjects by a vehicle. An interaction between the victim and subjects occurred that led to the victim being shot,” said KCPD Sgt. Phillip DiMartino.
"Within an hour of the incident occurring two juvenile male teen subjects were taken into custody pending further investigation in regard to this case," DiMartino said in an update Thursday morning. "The vehicle used in the crime was also recovered. The subjects were taken into custody and the vehicle was found a short distance away in Midtown."
The teens have not been formally arrested or charged in the case yet.
The Kansas City Irish Fest has set up a GoFundMe to benefit Shaun's family.
"As a chef, Shaun Brady nourished his community not just with incredible food, but with a deep pride in his culture and a contagious enthusiasm for celebration," the organization wrote. "The light he brought to our Irish community will endure through those touched by his talent, spirit, and joy for life."
Brady's killing marks the 104th homicide in Kansas City so far this year, according to the police department.
Kaite Mediatore Stover
'Can make no sense of it'
The news of Brady's death quickly spread on social media Wednesday evening, and there was an outpouring of grief from the Irish community and Brookside residents.
Brady was the creator of the Kansas City Irish Breakfast, which always follows a Catholic Mass on Sundays during the city’s annual Irish Fest, scheduled for this weekend at Crown Center downtown.
In a Facebook post, Kansas City Irish Fest organizers said their hearts were “absolutely broken” to learn of Brady’s death.
Kelli O'Neill Wenzel, executive director of the Irish Fest, told KCUR "a lot of people are still in a lot of shock."
"Everybody is probably doing a little bit of work therapy today and keeping busy and keeping their minds occupied," she said.
While the Irish Fest will go on as scheduled — it opens at 5 p.m. Friday — organizers are canceling the Irish Breakfast "to give those who knew and loved Shaun a chance to gather and remember him."
“Can make no sense of it,” Kerry Browne, the owner of Browne’s Irish Marketplace, said in a Facebook post that included Brady’s photo with her son.
Among the Irish Fest performers left reeling by Brady's death was St. Andrew Pipes and Drums bagpiper Griffin Hall. The group is scheduled to play on Sunday, and said in a Facebook post that Brady & Fox "was probably our favorite place to jam after parades."
"Such a sad sad day," Hall said in a text. "I cried many many tears last night."
O'Neill Wenzel said the news of Brady's killing has spread internationally through Irish media. "It just shows you what Shaun was to this community but beyond this community, and how the Irish are ones to come together as a whole," she said.
Kansas City's larger property crime problems
Speaking on KCUR's Up To Date on Thursday morning, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker held back tears as she said she regretted not stopping recently at Brady’s pub to see her friend.
“My heart’s really broken. I vacillate from anger and outrage to all those personal feelings of why, why, why,” Baker said. “Why was this man’s life taken? What could have been done? What can be done still?"
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Baker said she didn’t want to endanger Brady and others because she has received so many threats since her office’s prosecution of Eric DeValkeneare, a now-former KCPD detective who was convicted in the killing of Cameron Lamb — the first KCPD officer to ever be convicted for the fatal shooting of a Black man. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, has been publicly weighing whether to give a pardon to DeValkeneare.
As with Brady's case, Baker said she is seeing a trend of rising property crimes that end in tragedy.
"It seems as if more juveniles are engaged in stolen autos that also turn violent or their willingness to turn violent, to steal vehicles," Baker said. "It feels prevalent right now."
Baker's office would not handle the case if the suspects are charged as juveniles, because it would be assigned to family court. Only if a judge decides that a juvenile can be tried as an adult would her office take it up.
Mayor Quinton Lucas, in a lengthy Facebook post, said he grieved for the man who inspired him as he built his business and community. Lucas noted that residents of Brookside, Waldo, the Crossroads and along Prospect Avenue have recently expressed their concerns about the rise and property and nuisance crimes.
“For months, community members have cried out for a response from institutions, including our police, our electeds, our county justice apparatus, and all with some role in making things better, explaining that a failure to address would lead to more violent criminal activity,” Lucas said. “You have heard from us many reasons, but none are sufficient.”
Later on Thursday, Lucas told reporters that the community needs to talk about enforcement, and the street work by community organizations. But there is a deeper issue, he said.
"We need to understand how a kid that age starts to engage in this type of behavior, why they were not stopped before, how they got firearms, and frankly, what we can do to prevent others from engaging in this sort of behavior in the future," Lucas said.
Lucas suggested that KCPD should return to a policy where there are arrests for all criminal state law and ordinance violations that pose a threat to public safety; better deployment of officers to increase patrols in hardest hit areas; expand detention center capacity, including space that has been budgeted for 100 people at the downtown KCPD headquarters.
Kansas City is the only major U.S. city that does not have local control of its police department. Rather than reporting to elected Kansas City officials, the KCPD answers to a state-controlled Board of Police Commissioners, all but one member of which is appointed by Missouri's governor.
Last year, Kansas City set a record high for homicides, with 185.
KCUR's Zach Perez and Celisa Calacal contributed reporting.
