17-year-old is second person charged in connection with shooting inside Oak Park Mall

By JoBeth Davis

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    OVERLAND PARK, Kansas (KMBC) — A second person has been charged in connection with a shooting inside the busy Oak Park Mall food court on Nov. 12.

The Johnson County, Kansas, District Attorney’s Office announced charges against 17-year-old Axel Jose Andres Monroy in connection with the incident that started as a shoplifting investigation.

Monroy has been charged with battery against a law enforcement officer, interference with law enforcement, and theft of goods under $1,500.

Charged were announced last month against 18-year-old Nery Alberto Gonzalez-Munoz.

The affidavit released in the shooting last month shows that if the struggle had happened just nine seconds earlier, things would have ended very differently.

The four-page document detailed what authorities said happened inside the Oak Park Mall leading up to and just after the shooting.

Detectives noted officers received information from loss prevention personnel at Macy’s, who saw two men concealing merchandise in a white shopping bag. The suspects were then observed leaving the lower level of the store, passing all sales points, as detectives in plain clothes wearing badges called additional help to the area.

Police noted the suspects, one of whom was later identified as Gonzalez-Munoz, took a nearby escalator to the upper level and began quickly walking through the food court toward an exit on the north side of the building. The food court was busy at the time with “a large number of bystanders, including children.”

Oak Park Mall shooting live shot18-year-old charged, held on $1 million bond after shooting inside the Oak Park Mall An officer in plainclothes, displaying an Overland Park Police badge, identified themselves to the suspects, and police said Gonzalez-Munoz immediately began to resist officers.

Documents noted Gonzalez-Munoz struggled on the floor with one of the officers, during which he managed to remove the officer’s duty weapon from its holder. At least two officers and Gonzelez-Munoz struggled for control of the weapon, with one officer noting he felt the weapon pointed at his abdomen during the struggle and feared for his life.

Police said it was during that struggle that Gonzalez-Munoz managed to fire a shot from the gun. The spent round was later found in the leg of a chair in the food court. Police reviewed surveillance footage and noted a young girl around the age of 5 or 7 “had been in this seat only 9 seconds prior to the gunshot.”

The affidavit goes on to say that the officer was able to recover his gun as Gonzalez-Munoz escaped, running toward the north food court exit. Another officer ran after him and managed to take Gonzalez-Munoz to the ground in the entryway, where another struggle ensued. Police said during that struggle, another firearm that Gonzalez-Munoz had on his person fell out of its holster and was later recovered by officers.

Police said the struggle went on for five minutes, and other officers, as well as civilians, were needed to help take Gonzalez-Munoz into custody.

After the struggles, officers noted cuts and scratches on their hands and stomach, and one had a bite wound in the shoulder.

The other suspect with Gonzalez-Munoz, later identified as Monroy, ran out of the food court, through the mall parking lot, and into Dillards, where officers noted he attempted to lose law enforcement in crowds leaving the mall after the gunshot. Monroy was eventually taken into custody.

Detectives later recovered the stolen merchandise held by Gonzalez-Munoz and noted the bag contained $477.50 of Polo-branded clothing.

Gonzalez-Munoz has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, interference with law enforcement, aggravated endangerment of a child, battery on a law enforcement officer, endangerment, carrying a concealed weapon, theft, and unlawful discharge of a firearm in connection with the incident.

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