On the evening of Tuesday, March 3, 2020, officers from the Kansas City Police Department were patrolling near the 6300 block of Independence Avenue in Northeast Kansas City, Missouri. Just after 8:00 p.m., the officers heard the distinct sound of three to four gunshots ringing out from a nearby location. Reacting immediately to the gunfire, they ran across the street toward a Hardee’s restaurant where the sound appeared to have originated.
Upon arrival in the parking lot, they discovered a vehicle that had sustained damage consistent with gunfire. Inside the vehicle, they found a male victim suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.
The wounded man was identified as 30-year-old Joseph Patrick Delgado. Emergency medical personnel transported him to a local hospital with injuries described as life-threatening. Despite medical intervention and several days of treatment, he succumbed to his injuries and passed away on Saturday, March 7, 2020. His death marked the city's 30th homicide of that year.
Law enforcement investigators processed the scene at the restaurant's parking lot off Beacon Avenue, noting the ballistic damage to the car. In the days following the shooting, police reported that no arrests had been made in connection with the case. Authorities did not release a description of a suspect or a potential vehicle involved in the attack, and the motive for the shooting remained undisclosed to the public as detectives continued to seek information from the community.
