The Kansas City Irish community has been left devastated after a beloved chef was shot and killed outside his restaurant.
Shaun Brady, 44, the co-owner of Irish restaurant Brady & Fox, was taking out the trash behind his restaurant at around 5.18pm on Wednesday when he was confronted by a group of teenagers hanging out around a vehicle.
Witnesses said Brady was trying to stop one of them from breaking into a vehicle when he was shot, FOX 4 KC reports.
‘His death is a loss to us and the surrounding community,’ Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said, describing Brady as ‘the kind of guy who would always jump into help you – and “you” meant anyone needing help.
The fatal shooting has rattled many in the city, just days before its Irish Fest was set to begin.
Shaun Brady, 44, was killed Wednesday night while taking out the trash from his restaurant
Festival organizers wrote on Facebook Thursday that Brady – who hailed from Tipperary County, Ireland – was a major part of the Irish Fest family, and his restaurant was a place where many in the Irish community gathered.
Brady was also the head chef and creator of the Irish Breakfast event – a ticketed feast following Catholic Mass the Sunday of every Irish fest weekend.
‘It was one of Shaun’s greatest gifts to bring people together with his culinary creations,’ festival organizers wrote.
This year’s Irish Breakfast has been canceled, but Irish Fest will otherwise continue as planned over the Labor Day weekend to ‘focus on the positive things that we love about Shaun,’ Erin Gabert told RTE.
Police say he was confronted by a group of teenagers at around 5.18pm
First responders rushed to the scene and found him unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds.
Brady was then transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The suspects, meanwhile, fled the scene in a vehicle, which was recovered in Kansas City, Missouri – and two teenagers were taken into custody within an hour of the shooting, according to KSHB.
One has since been charged with second-degree murder, as well as felony attempted vehicle theft and armed criminal action, the Kansas City Star reports.
It is unclear what charges the other teenager may face.
Brady was apparently trying to stop one of them from breaking into a vehicle when he was shot
Brady grew up in Ireland and studied at the Dublin Institute of Technology, where he fell in love with the city’s culinary scene and became one of the school’s youngest graduates, according to the Star.
He then worked in kitchens around Europe and Asia, ultimately returning to his homeland – where he met a woman named Kate, a Wichita, Kansas native while she was on a vacation through Ireland and the two fell in love.
Brady then moved to the United States to build his life with Kate, first living in Chicago before eventually moving to Kansas City.
He had previously worked as the executive chef at the Ambassador Hotel, then opened Brady’s Public House with Graham Ferris.
The restaurant was forced to close during the COVID pandemic, but in 2022, Ferris and Brady opened Brady & Fox.
Brady – a native of Tipperary County, Ireland – was a large part of the city’s annual Irish Fest
Irish Fest organizers have now set up a memorial fund to benefit Brady’s wife, Kate, and his two young children.
‘As a chef, Shaun Brady nourished his community, not just with incredible food, but with a deep pride in his culture and a contagious enthusiasm for celebration,’ the online fundraiser says.
‘The talent he brought to our Irish community will endure through those touched by his talent, spirit and joy for life.’
Organizers are asking for donations of $45 – matching the price of an Irish Breakfast ticket, and within just four hours of its creation, nearly 300 people had donated almost $20,000.
He and Graham Ferris opened Brady & Fox in Kansas City in 2022, after their previous restaurant was forced to close during the COVID pandemic
Even some Kansas City officials fondly remembered Brady on Thursday.
Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a statement he was ‘heartbroken’ to learn of the chef’s death.
‘I have met him, laughed with him, heard just a bit of his and his family’s story and was inspired by the business and the community he was building in Kansas City,’ Lucas said.
‘I grieve and express my sincerest condolences to his family and friends and to all who knew him.’
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker also said that she and her husband ‘are shocked and heartbroken over the senseless loss of our friend, Shaun Brady.
‘Shaun became a friend to my family several years ago,’ she told KSHB. ‘How could one not become Shaun’s friend? His personality was infectious, he was gregarious, warm and genuinely funny.
‘He told great stories about growing up in Ireland and his affection for that beautiful place,’ she continued.
‘He always offered a landing spot for me and my family for any occasion. Brady’s restaurant was one of those businesses that provided a feeling that you belonged there, like it was your family welcoming you back home.
‘I have brought so many friends and colleagues to his business for the scones with clotted cream (that I only learned recently that he would make special for me whenever I came in – I thought they were always on the menu), for the latest Irish spirit he thought I should try, but mostly for his great, big personality.
‘We are grieving for his family and offer our heartfelt condolences to them,’ she said. ‘And we promise that his loss will not be forgotten.’