KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A standoff that escalated into shots fired, then a house fire, is now a death investigation. Shortly before 10 p.m., firefighters found the body of the man believed to have fired the shots and set fire to the house while he was inside.

The home is located in a residential area near the intersection of NE 115th Street and N Cherry Street. It is about nine miles east of the Kansas City International Airport and a few blocks from Nashua Elementary School.

Police first arrived at the home around noon, according to a Kansas City Police Department public information officer, after someone called concerned the man inside might be suicidal.

The following description of what’s going on comes from Kansas City Police Department Captain Jake Becchina.

The police tried for an hour to contact the man. Once he finally answered, they started hearing gunshots inside.

“The gunfire went on for quite some time,” Becchina said. “Some rounds actually started penetrating outside the residence.”

The fire broke out more than an hour later, at 4:40 p.m

Police began evacuating neighboring houses immediately after hearing the fire. They used armored cars to escort people to safety from their homes. Staff at Nashua Elementary placed the school in “lockdown and teach” mode from the start. Clay County Sheriff’s deputies assisted with the modified dismissal to direct the students in a direction away from home.

Once the fire started, police had to work with the fire department to assess how firefighters could safely control the flames at the risk of continuing gunfire. They collaborated to find a location at a safe distance for “defensive operations,” using an aerial ladder truck to bring water into the house. They managed not to spread to any neighboring houses.

With no indication of a hostage, they took no chances.

“We don’t know what’s in that residence. We don’t know what precautions a person could have taken and taken to set up a diversion situation with a fire or something like that,” Becchina said. “So they will take every precaution. De-escalation efforts will continue.”

KCFD confirmed the severity of the house fire, saying the house sustained significant damage. Police deployed drones, then robots, before allowing firefighters to get close enough to attack the blaze. When they did, they found the man dead right in front of the house.

Once the fire is safely extinguished, the death investigation will continue.

This is a developing story. KCTV will update it as more information becomes available.

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