A firefighter was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer early Sunday morning in downtown Kansas City after the firefighter’s Saturday night wedding.
Kansas City Fire Department spokesman James Garrett confirmed that six-year veteran firefighter Anthony Bruno of Fire Station 17 was shot about 2:30 a.m.
The officer who shot him was in uniform but working another job off-duty when he responded to a reported assault on a cab driver at 12th and Wyandotte streets, Kansas City police said. The officer found a suspect near 13th Street and Baltimore Avenue. When the officer approached, the man started to attack him, police said.
The officer, who was not immediately identified, told investigators that he feared for his life. He shot Bruno in the chest.
Police said the officer performed CPR on Bruno, who was a third-generation member of the fire department. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
The officer also was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
Garrett said Fire Chief Paul Berardi had been with Bruno’s family since the incident.
“Although specific details of the incident are still being gathered,” Berardi said in a statement Sunday afternoon, “KCPD Chief Forte and I have already spoken a number of times and will continue to remain in contact.”
Berardi said “friends and family of the Kansas City Fire Department remember Anthony Bruno as a courageous and dedicated firefighter who had been with the department since 2008.”
Bruno leaves behind a father who is a retired deputy fire chief, his mother, two sisters and his new wife.
Police are investigating the incident.
