22-year-old woman shot at KC gas station remembered as a ‘spitfire’ with a vibrant spirit
A vibrant, ferocious girl with a beautiful smile — that’s how 22-year-old Tykeedra Henderson’s family wants to remember her.
Henderson was shot and killed at a gas station near West 31st and Bell streets near Southwest Boulevard on July 4 just after 1:00 a.m. said Jake Becchina, a spokesperson for the Kansas City Police Department.
“It’s devastating to our family, especially to her mother, her sisters and her friends, just everybody that loved her,” Alisha Hutson, Henderson’s aunt, said. “Because it’s unexpected, it hurt even more. It’s definitely put a void and a hole in our hearts.”
Henderson was in her car in the gas station parking lot when shots were fired from outside the vehicle, striking her, Becchina said. Henderson’s car rolled to a stop in the south side of the parking lot, where she was found unresponsive.
“Unfortunately, she was the victim of a random shooting,” a GoFundMe for Henderson’s family said.
Tydreeka Henderson was a graduate of Ruskin High School in South Kansas City, graduating in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She had been working since she was 16 years old, her mother, Leyana James, said. She had plans to attend school in the fall in hopes of becoming a radiology technician.
“She was saying, ‘Auntie I want to go to school to help other people,’” Hutson said. “That’s what she wanted to do. And I was really looking forward to her doing that, and unfortunately now she can’t do that.”
Henderson was outspoken and determined with a smile that “just lit up the room when she walked in,” Hutson said.
The oldest of four siblings, she was particularly close with her two younger sisters.
“They looked up to her and really just loved her,” Hutson said. “Not only with her sisters, but she had a lot of friends that loved her. She’s only been out of high school a few years, but still, she had a number of friends and just family that truly loved her. But I would just say that she was definitely a light to all she came in contact with.”
Henderson was born a type one diabetic.
“My daughter was a fighter, she been a type one diabetic her whole life,” James said. “She was a spitfire. That’s all I gotta say. She was a spitfire. Vibrant. Ferocious.”
Henderson’s family described her as a hard worker, who was looking for a second job at the time of her death. Even though her diabetes sometimes interfered with her work life, she never let it slow her down, James said.
“Even though that was a challenge that she faced, and sometimes it impacted her working situation, she still persevered and worked hard to still thrive despite having that diabetes,” Hutson said.
No suspects have been named in Henderson’s case, Becchina said.
Her family is hopeful that “justice will prevail in this situation,” Hutson said.
“We just want to make sure our focus is really on remembering Tykeedra for the beautiful young lady that she was,” Hutson said. “She touched so many lives in her short time that she spent here on this earth. And we know that there was so much more in store for her in the future.”
Anyone with information or tips regarding the death of Tydreeka Henderson can contact homicide detectives at (816) 234-5043 or send in anonymous tips to the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS.
