Person of interest identified in shooting death of Blue Springs teenager

A Blue Springs teenager has been identified as a person of interest in the homicide of 17-year-old Jayden Lockett, police say.

Aden J. Kaler, who is also 17 and a former resident of Blue Springs, was identified by police as a person of interest in connection with the shooting death of Lockett earlier this month.

Kaler is described as weighing about 136 pounds and standing 5 feet 11 inches tall with black hair and brown eyes. Police do not have a description of the car Kaler might be driving, but say he should be considered armed and dangerous.

On Nov. 11 police responded to a report of shots being fired at a home in the 1200 block of Southwest Sunset Street. When officers arrived, they found three shooting victims: a 19-year-old suffering from minor injuries, a 15-year-old who was taken to the hospital with critical injuries, and Lockett, who was found dead inside the house.

At the time, Sgt. Joe Fanara of the Blue Springs Police Department said police were investigating what led to the gunfire but were working with a theory that a gun battle between two shooters had occurred.

Lockett was a student at Blue Springs South High School who was remembered by family and classmates as a “beautiful person” who “touched so many people’s lives.”

Anyone with information on Kaler is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS, the BSPD dispatch at 816-226-0151.