An Irish chef living in the US has been killed after being shot outside his own business in Kansas.
Shaun Brady, originally from Nenagh, Co Tipperary, was the co-owner of Brady’s KC, a popular restaurant in the Brookside area of Kansas City, Missouri.
He was killed after being shot outside his restaurant on Wednesday evening shortly before 5:20pm, following an armed confrontation.
In a statement to The Irish Times, Sergeant Phil DiMartino of Kansas City Police Department said detectives are interviewing several witnesses and reviewing any available CCTV footage.
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“This is being investigated as a homicide. Preliminary investigation revealed the victim was taking out trash when he observed multiple subjects by a vehicle.
“An interaction between the victim and subjects occurred that led to the victim being shot,” he said.
Local media reports suggest that the group was attempting to steal the car, with Mr Brady intervening and subsequently being shot.
The group ran from the scene after the shooting and no arrests have been made.
Detectives are interviewing several witnesses and reviewing CCTV footage while crime scene personnel are processing the scene for physical evidence.
Kansas City police officers discovered Mr Brady unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds on arrival and performed “life-saving measures”.
“Emergency medical personnel responded and transported the victim to a local hospital, where he was subsequently pronounced deceased,” Sgt DiMartino said.
There have been just more than 100 murders in Kansas City so far this year, while in 2023, some 182 people were killed, an all-time-high.
The prominent chef was heavily involved in the Irish-American community, particularly during the annual Kansas City Irish Fest which is due to begin on Friday.
The festival which coincides with Labour Day Weekend promotes and celebrates Irish culture.
Mr Brady made several TV appearances in the past to highlight the festival through cooking demonstrations.
His restaurant, Brady’s KC, specialises in authentic Irish cuisine.
“The Irish community is totally stunned. He was a beloved figure, a native of Ireland, just a generous do anything for anyone kind of guy, so, a lot of us again, stunned, praying, angry, wondering why,” Pat O’Neill, a long-time friend of Mr Brady, told the local television station FOX4.
After graduating from Technological University Dublin, then known as Dublin Institute of Technology, he met his wife from Kansas while she was travelling in Ireland and later married in 2005.
Mr Brady’s father ran a well-known pub in Nenagh called The Brady Carmel, formerly known as The Moon & Sixpence, in the Summerhill area. His family came from Ardcroney just outside Nenagh.
Tributes have since been posted on social media, with one labelling Mr Brady as a “wonderful friend, great father, husband and extraordinary and creative chef and baker.”
Others labelled his death as a “incredibly tragic” and “unbelievably sad”, adding that Mr Brady was a “pillar of the Irish community” in Kansas City.
“Shaun Brady was an icon and a staple in Kansas City for his Irish cuisine. Irish Festival will never be the same without him,” read one post.
Labelling his death as a result of “senseless gun violence,” one friend said he was a “beacon of joy and laughter and a stellar chef”.
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