Kansas City police investigate third homicide Saturday that left one man dead
Update: Police later identified the victim as 78-year-old Rafael Avila-Mendez.
Police responded to a third shooting Saturday in Kansas City that left one man dead, a police spokeswoman said.
Officers responded to reports of a shooting just after 10 p.m. Saturday in the 1900 block of Kansas Avenue, said Capt. Leslie Foreman, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City Police Department.
Police found an unresponsive man who had been shot, Foreman said. Emergency medical crews declared him dead.
Officers currently have no suspect information, Foreman said. Detectives and crime scene personnel are canvassing the area for witnesses and processing evidence from the scene.
This was the 90th homicide in Kansas City in 2022, according to data tracked by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings.
Police are investigating two other homicides Saturday.
Officers responded to reports of gunshots just after 5 p.m. in the area of East 39th Street and South Benton Avenue, where they found an unresponsive man lying near the sidewalk and suffering from gunshot wounds, Foreman said. Emergency medical crews declared him dead at the scene.
Police responded to another homicide about seven blocks away just before 6 p.m. near Olive Street and East 37th Street, Foreman said. Officers found an unresponsive woman suffering from gunshot wounds in the driver’s seat of a vehicle at Olive Street and East 38th Street. Emergency medical crews declared her dead at the scene.
Foreman said the two killings seemed unrelated.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact the homicide unit at 816-234-5043 or the anonymous TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477. Up to a $25,000 reward is available for an arrest in this case.
This story was originally published July 24, 2022 at 8:14 AM.
