MONETT, Mo. (AP) – Authorities have determined that a 3-year-old boy accidentally shot himself to death in southwest Missouri.

Anthony Latorre Jr. was shot once in the head early Tuesday at his home in Monett, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southwest of Springfield. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that the child was playing in a car in the garage. Police Chief George Daoud says the child found a pistol in the car and it accidentally discharged.

The investigation continues.

LAKE LOTAWANA, Mo. (AP) – Officials say a weak tornado has uprooted trees and damaged power lines in an area east of Kansas City.

The Kansas City Star reports that the National Weather Service says the EF-0 tornado touched down Tuesday afternoon in Lake Lotawana east of Kansas City and was on the ground for 3.4 miles (about 5 kilometers). It stretched 100 yards at its widest, with peak winds of 80 mph.

Lake Lotawana resident Patty Corkran says her family lost about eight trees, some of which are 4 feet (about 1 meter) in diameter and as tall as 80 feet. But she says she was “really lucky” that there was no structural damage to her home or her neighbors’ homes.

No injuries were reported in the area.

GREENWOOD COUNTY — The community of Eureka in southeast Kansas is beginning the cleanup following Tuesday night’s direct hit from a tornado. Search and rescue efforts continued through the night. Eight people were injured, according to Greenwood County Emergency Management.

Kansas Adjutant General’s Office spokeswoman Jane Welch says the high school, along with several homes and businesses were damaged. Assessments of the damage are underway. Welch says she didn’t know how seriously the eight victims were hurt.

A shelter has been set up at a church for displaced residents.

U.S. 54 closed Tuesday night at Kansas 99 south junction and at Flint Hills Road in Butler County is now open, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol

Hundreds in Eureka and many others across Greenwood County are without power, according to Westar Energy. There is no word on when electricity would be restored.

The Red Cross is working from the Methodist Church at 521 Main Street. Volunteers are asked to report to the Matt Samuels Community Building, 100 North Jefferson Street.

Tuesday night, the Governor’s office issued a state of disaster emergency for Greenwood County, according to Kansas Adjutant’s General’s office.

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GREENWOOD COUNTY —Eureka sustained a direct hit from a tornado just before 7:30p.m.Tuesday. Power lines were down and first responders were asked to report to the fire station on South Main Street, according to the Greenwood County Emergency Management.

Hundreds are without power in the city of Eureka, according to Westar Energy..

A temporary shelter was established at the Methodist Church.

People were asked to avoid the damage area. Emergency vehicles are being delayed attempting to reach the scene due to traffic.

The Governor’s office issued a state of disaster emergency for Greenwood County, according to Kansas Adjutant’s General’s office.

Officials are working to assess damage. There are no reports of injury.

Eureka is located 60 miles east of Wichita.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Kansas City police have identified the two teenagers who were killed Monday night in a residential neighborhood.

The teens were identified on Tuesday in a news release as 15-year-old Demonte Walker and 16-year-old Jeremiah Stewart.

Police say the shootings occurred at 8:20 p.m. Monday. The victims were taken to an area hospital where both were pronounced dead.

The shooter remains at large.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Authorities are investigating a shooting that left two men dead in Kansas City.

Police say the shooting happened around 8:30 p.m. Monday in the city’s Midtown area. The wounded men were rushed to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Their names weren’t immediately released.

No suspect information has been released. Police are asking anyone with information to call the homicide unit or a tips hotline.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Prosecutors say a Missouri man has pleaded guilty to a $4.7 million investment scheme in which he defrauded 89 investors who believed they were buying cattle for resale.

The U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release Tuesday that 42-year-old Cameron J. Hager of Clinton, Missouri, pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud and money laundering.

Hager operated 5A Holdings LLC. He admitted he engaged in a fraud scheme from July 2015 to September 2017. He solicited victims to invest in a “cattle fund” to purchase cattle herds to be sold later at a substantial profit. Prosecutors say he never purchased or intended to purchase any cattle.

He convinced investors he was locating herds that farmers in distress, which he would then fatten and sell to slaughterhouses.

JACKSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on felony charges.

Just before 1p.m. Tuesday,  a sheriff’s deputy located a stolen vehicle, a dark blue Chevrolet Impala near Mayetta on 150th Road, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

The deputy determined the vehicle was stolen out of the City of Overbrook. The driver of the vehicle, Gino Vincient Vicchiullo, 25, of Topeka, was arrested for possession of stolen property.

He is being held in the Jackson County Jail on a bond of $7500 for felony possession of stolen property, according to jail booking records.

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced Tuesday to 85 months in federal prison for robbing an Overland Park bank at gunpoint, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Mamoudou U. Kaba, 22, Shawnee, pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during the robbery. In his plea, he admitted he brandished a handgun on Sept 22, 2015, when he robbed U.S. Bank at 9900 West 87th in Overland Park, Kan.

He pointed a gun a 9 mm Ruger at a clerk and customers before fleeing the bank with stolen cash.

 

 

BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is endorsing one of his 2016 presidential campaign volunteers in the race for a suburban Kansas City congressional seat.

Sanders on Monday threw his weight behind lawyer Brent Welder. He’s one of six Democrats seeking the Democratic nomination for a Kansas congressional seat currently held by Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder. Yoder’s seat is a top target for Democrats because President Donald Trump narrowly lost the district.

Welder served as a delegate for Sanders at the 2016 Democratic National Convention when he was a resident of Missouri. Welder, who now lives in Bonner Springs, Kansas, also worked as a grassroots organizer for Sanders’ presidential campaign. Sanders described Welder in a statement as a “bold progressive.”

The primary is in August.