Community gathers to mourn brothers killed at KC gas station: ‘This is a blow’
As rain fell across the Kansas City metro, dozens of people gathered outside a convenience store in Kansas City, heads bowed in prayer, during a vigil honoring two homicide victims.
KC Mothers in Charge hosted Friday’s vigil in honor of Taylor Garrett and Byron Garrett, who were killed July 20 at a Truman Road convenience store.
“It’s up to us to stop the violence,” KC Mothers in Charge Founder and Program Director Rosilyn Temple said. “It’s not OK when someone kills someone. Byron and Taylor should be here.”
Dozens of family members, friends and community members gathered to speak about the men.
“We don’t know how to move forward from stuff like this,” the pair’s cousin, Danielle Palmer, said. “We don’t know. Day by day. We love on each other. That’s all we can do, is love on each other. Trust in God. Keep in our faith.”
Emmanuel Hernandez was charged in Jackson County court Monday and faces one count each of voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action, according to court documents.
Both Taylor, 32, and Byron, 35, were raised by their grandmother, Palmer said. Despite being “the little brothers,” the pair “had to step up,” even when they didn’t know how.
Each left behind children, who will now grow up without a father, Temple said.
Temple said the men will never get the opportunity to “walk them down the aisle to get married, to be there when they graduate.”
“So you mourn today,” Temple said. “You try this healing.”
Other family members spoke during the vigil, including an aunt who referred to the pair as “good boys.”
“They weren’t out here trying to do all that,” the woman said. “Either way, like, it shouldn’t have happened.”
Taylor and Byron’s cousin, Marc Madison Jr., said people need to “start being critical thinkers.”
“So we need to stop doing this. We need to be better, start being critical thinkers on both ends of the floor,” Madison said. “It doesn’t matter — murder is murder.
”Since Taylor Garrett and Byron Garrett’s death, the family has faced negativity on social media sites as commenters label the two ‘thugs,’ ” Palmer said
.“They were not thugs,” Palmer said. “They were fathers. They were family men. They were supporters. They were everything to us, and they were everything to a lot of other people, not just their family.”
As the vigil came to a close, the group released dozens of balloons into the Kansas City skyline in remembrance of the brothers.
“This is a blow. It’s a blow to our family,” Palmer said.
This story was originally published July 28, 2025 at 6:35 PM.
