Suspect still at large in mass shooting at Old Town club
Wichita police continue to search for a 23-year-old man they say fired shots through the front glass doors of a nightclub he had been kicked out of, killing a local bartender and injuring five women.
Keshawn Maurice Dawson remained at large Wednesday afternoon, more than a day after the deadly shooting early Tuesday morning at Enigma Club & Lounge, 351 N. Mosley in Wichita’s Old Town entertainment district.
Police said Tuesday that Dawson was escorted out of the club by staff after getting into a fight inside and returned with a gun around 12:40 a.m. then opened fire. Preston Spencer, 34, of Wichita died from a gunshot wound he received shielding his pregnant cousin from a spray of bullets, his family told The Eagle in an interview. The women who were hit, ages 22 to 40, all received non-life-threatening injuries, police said previously.
Spencer, a father and husband who worked as a bartender and bar manager at a west-side restaurant called Twelve, was at the club with co-workers and family when the gunfire began. He died Tuesday at a Wichita hospital where he’d been taken for treatment.
Police said Tuesday that Dawson took off after the shooting in a dark-colored vehicle driven by another person. Anyone with information about the case or Dawson’s whereabouts is asked to call Wichita police detectives at 316-268-4646 or leave an anonymous tip with Wichita-Sedgwick County Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.
In addition to the shooting, Dawson is wanted on two warrants tied to cases where he is accused of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, which is illegal in Kansas.
A GoFundMe account is raising money to help support Spencer’s wife and young children following his death. Donations are being accepted at www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-kendra-and-the-spencer-family.
This story was originally published September 8, 2021 at 3:07 PM.
