Lawyers discuss steps into whether prosecutors will charge parents in Chiefs parade shooting

By Andy Alcock

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    KANSAS CITY (KMBC) — Part of the ongoing investigation into Wednesday’s mass shooting at the Chiefs Rally at Union Station is focusing on the possibility of charging the parents or guardians of the two juveniles already facing charges in that case.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker has publicly stated she’s looking at that possibility and has charged parents previously.

There’s a recent precedent in a similar case, but it’s in another state.

Earlier this month, a jury found Jennifer Crumbley guilty of manslaughter after her son killed four students at a Michigan High School in 2021.

The shooter’s father, James Crumbley, is scheduled to go on trial next month.

Allison Young, an attorney with Kansas City’s Watt Law Firm, says she doubts parents or guardians will be charged for Wednesday’s mass shooting.

“In this case, I would be shocked if that happened, only because they would have to prove some significant knowledge of what these juveniles were doing or planning to do at the time,” Young said. “And this is something we see in the city very commonly as far as juveniles having guns or juveniles committing what would be considered a felony. And we don’t see parents being held accountable in Jackson County very often, if ever,” she said.

A spokesman for Jean Peters Baker pointed to a high-profile case seven years ago.

In early 2017, Courtenay Block pleaded guilty to multiple felony charges after his 2-year-old daughter Shaquille Kornegay shot and killed herself with Block’s gun.

kmbc.com/article/kc-father-pleads-guilty-to-shooting-death-of-2-year-old-daughter/8632757#

Block was sentenced to ten years in prison.

State records show that seven years after that sentencing, he’s out of prison and currently reporting to a probation and parole officer.

Young says prosecutors will need to look at some critical factors if they plan to charge the parents or guardians of the juveniles charged in the mass shooting.

“If somebody is looking to charge the parents, they’re going to look to how those parents aided the children or the juveniles in obtaining those weapons, that ammunition, what they knew about their plans that day,” she said.

Young says that although it’s typically rare for a Jackson County Family Court judge to certify juveniles as adults, she expects Judge Jennifer Phillips to do so in this case.

“I would be shocked if there was not a certification from the family court judge, given the mass amount of people that were injured, including innocent children, the national media attention that we have received, what level of stage we were on at the time,” Young said.

Young says it will likely take a month or two to make that certification decision.

If they are charged as adults, their identities become public record.

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