KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Police responded to an armed robbery which took place inside of a concession stand at the Kansas City Zoo on Sunday evening.
Shortly before 5 p.m., prior to closing time for the zoo, witnesses told police a tall black male posing as an employee, told a person working at the Tree Top restaurant inside of the zoo that he needed to check their soda-pop supply.
Police said the employee showed the suspect where it was kept, and then when a customer approached, the suspect put on a pair of plastic gloves and served them. The suspect later lifted his shirt revealing a handgun and proceeded to demand cash from the register. The gunman then took an undisclosed amount of money from the drawer and fled the scene in an unknown direction.
Some people who spent their day at the zoo said this won’t stop them from coming.
“I don’t feel unsafe. I guess it’s just one of those things that happen,” said zoo-goer Darius Grayson.
“It can happen any place. It’s not just the zoo’s problem,” said another customer of the zoo, Stacey Hoeltzel.
FOX 4’s Judy Le reached out to the zoo, and representatives said they’re letting police handle this investigation.
They later posted this statement on the Kansas City Zoo’s Facebook page:
“Thanks to the quick actions of KCPD, who are regularly at the Zoo, and the Zoo staff, much information was gathered concerning the robbery at the Zoo on Sunday afternoon. The investigation by KCPD is ongoing and we are supporting them,” stated Randy Wisthoff, CEO/Executive Director of the Kansas City Zoo. “As the Zoo strives to become a world-class family-friendly Zoo, we are growing quickly in many ways including safety and security. We have increased staff and added a KCPD presence to the Zoo. Safety and security for our guests, employees, and animals are priority one. We realize with higher visibility as a major attraction for the community and surrounding areas that more attention is being drawn to us and we are adjusting our procedures accordingly to make the visitor experience safe and enjoyable. We believe that the Kansas City Zoo is a safe place for all ages to visit.”
As of Monday no arrests had been made in this case, and police are still searching for a suspect. If you have any information in this case, you are urged to call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS.
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