After three people killed in one day, Kansas City nears its 100th homicide this year
After three homicides Wednesday, Kansas City has reached a total of 99 killings in the city’s deadliest year in recent history, according to data maintained by The Star, which includes police shootings.
By this time last year, there had been 68 homicides.
Officers were called to the first shooting just before 12:50 p.m. Wednesday on the 10000 block of E. 43rd Street, where they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound, according to the Kansas City Police Department. Police said the man, whose name has not yet been released, died after he was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Another man was killed in a shooting in the area of Chestnut Avenue and East 27th Street Wednesday evening, police said. Police responded to reports of gunfire around 7:15 p.m., and witnesses directed them between two houses, where they found an unresponsive man on the ground, said Officer Doaa El-Ashkar, a department spokesperson.
The man, Darren E. Marshall, 28, died at the scene.
Police were able to trace a green Pontiac that witnesses said a suspect used to flee the scene. A police chase ensued that ended at Third Street and James Street in Kansas City, Kansas, and a person of interest is now in custody, El-Ashkar said.
Roughly thirty minutes later, police responded to another homicide in south Kansas City, where a woman was found fatally shot on a road, police said. Officers pronounced Sharon M. Douglas, 45, dead at the scene near Bennington Avenue and East Red Bridge Road.
Officers said they aren’t sure of the events that led to the killing. Earlier, Douglas was driving an ATV on the road, El-Ashkar said.
At the scene, El-Ashkar commented to reporters about the city’s rising homicide numbers. She called the continued loss of life “so unnecessary.”
“So devastating to the community, to Kansas City,” she said. “When will it stop?”
Officers urged anyone with tips about any of the homicide cases to contact the homicide unit at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
Gun violence will be the subject of a new, statewide journalism project The Star is undertaking in Missouri this year in partnership with the national service program Report for America and sponsored in part by Missouri Foundation for Health. As part of this project, The Star will seek the community’s help.
To contribute, visit Report for America online at reportforamerica.org.
This story was originally published July 2, 2020 at 4:07 PM with the headline "After three people killed in one day, Kansas City nears its 100th homicide this year."