‘Helping person’ killed near KC’s Power & Light tried to stop fight, family says
Kane Taddese was a man who loved to help people, his loved ones said. They believe it’s what led to his death in an August mass shooting in a downtown Kansas City parking lot that left two people dead and three others injured.
In the early morning hours of Aug. 24, Taddese was out with two friends in the Power and Light District in downtown Kansas City. The trio reportedly saw two women fighting with a crowd of people watching and filming on their cellphones in a surface parking lot on East 13th Street and Grand Boulevard.
Taddese, according to a family spokesperson, reportedly attempted to break up the melee, but was attacked by several men and women as his friends were also fighting off people.
The family spokesperson, KaMesha Bernard, identified Taddese and his friend in videos sent to The Star. Multiple videos that have gone viral locally on social media but were later deleted showed the fight and ensuing altercations that occurred, including one of Taddese’s friends attempting to help him before Taddese was fatally shot, a moment also captured on camera.
Police have not yet named a suspect in the case.
Several videos begin with Taddese’s friend, who wore a white shirt and gray pants, pushing a person down as that individual trips him. Taddese can be seen in a black shirt with cut-off sleeves and blue jean shorts, pushing a woman down and putting a chokehold on a man before being slammed on the ground.
Taddese is on the ground, bent over, face down, as a man kicks him, and the woman who was pushed, dressed in a black jumpsuit and barefoot, gets up and begins punching him.
In one video, the person filming attempts to hold the woman back as she flings fists at Taddese while Taddese’s friend holds him.
“He just pushed me n–––––. I don’t give a f–––,” the woman says in the video.
Taddese, who is of Ethiopian descent, is seen being punched and kicked by numerous men and women as he’s called a racial slur several times, and his wallet and phone are taken from his pockets. Videos show two bystanders, who the family does not know, kneeling beside a presumed unconscious Taddese as one of them asks for water, apparently trying to help him.
Just before the end of one of the videos, a person can be seen walking over to Taddese and the two bystanders and firing rounds from a weapon. The camera drops. People in the video can be heard saying they’ve been shot. A rain of gunfire can be heard as panic encompasses the scene.
“I’m shot,” a person can be heard repeating as automatic gunfire rings out in the video.
“Are you OK?” another person asks.
Authorities pronounced Taddese, 24, dead on the scene, after officers arrived just after 4 a.m., according to Kansas City police spokesperson Sgt. Phil DiMartino. John Alfaro, 18, was pronounced dead nearly three hours later.
Three other people were hurt: a man and an underage boy who were critically injured, and a woman whose injuries were not life-threatening.
Taddese and Alafaro were the 104th and 105th homicides in Kansas City this year, according to data tracked by The Star, which includes shootings involving law enforcement officers. Authorities confirmed to the family that Taddese died from a gunshot to the head, Bernard said.
The shooting continues a trend of deadly violence in Kansas City, where altercations result in fatalities by gunfire. Arguments are a key contributor to at least 48 homicides in Kansas City this year, according to police data. This was also one of several shootings that has occurred in the city’s entertainment districts this year.
The shooting happened in the same lot where another shooting occurred on July 11. In that incident, two men allegedly fired into an apartment building from the lot after hearing gunshots nearby and observing a green laser on one man’s daughter. Hours after the 18th and Vine District celebrated Juneteenth, a shooting around 2 a.m. the next day killed one person and injured five.
Other videos of the August shooting across the street from Power and Light showed three victims lying in the parking lot after the shooting as people began clearing the scene and first responders entered the area.
Loud sirens echoed.
Taddese’s friend, who was fighting for him and defending him, began weeping as he stood and frantically paced over Taddese’s lifeless body.
Police stated they believe an altercation between multiple individuals led to shots being fired and the victims being struck. They’ve confirmed they have “gathered a lot of video” as they continue to investigate, but there have been no new updates since September.
“I do know [detectives] are making progress and tracking down all leads as they come through,” police spokesperson Sgt. Phil DiMartino told The Star on Wednesday.
People with information are asked to contact the TIPS hotline at 816-474-8477. Anonymous tips that lead to an arrest can be rewarded up to $25,000.
A family man who would ‘go to work and go home’
Taddese, an Olathe West graduate and a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning installer, was described as a kind and caring man, both by Bernard and one of Taddese’s high school coaches.
He was one of five siblings, and lived with a few of his best friends in a house together. The night he died was one of the few nights that Taddese indulged in nightlife, Bernard said.
“The only thing he did was go to work and go home and check on his family,” Bernard said. “The one night that he actually helped somebody, he ends up getting hurt. His family … they wish that he didn’t help, but then again, that’s Kane. He’s just a helping person.”
Taddese’s family is not doing well after his death, Bernard said, but wants his story to be told. They initially cooperated with the police, but have ceased doing so because of their distrust in the police and their investigation.
Taddese showed ‘a lot of growth’ through sports
Listed on rosters as 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 153 pounds, Taddese was an accomplished three-sport athlete for the Olathe West Owls while in high school.
He was the school’s first wrestling state qualifier, one of several school athletic records he broke. In track and field, he competed in the 100-meter, the 400, the 4x100 relay, the 4x400 relay, and long jump. Taddese played safety for the football team and participated in the orchestra before he graduated in 2019, according to his obituary.
Lucas Vincent coached him in all three sports, as well as his younger brother, and saw the light that Taddese brought to others as a teen.
“He was always making everybody around him laugh … sometimes to the dismay of the coaches,” Vincent said. “We’re sitting there trying to focus, but that’s who Kane was. He was always having a good time, always laughing and always making everybody else around him laugh.”
Vincent recalls a Blue Valley West wrestler giving Taddese problems with a fireman’s carry move, saying he “just kept dumping (Taddese) on his head with it,” he said.
Taddese sought his coach’s help and worked hard on trying to defend against the move. He never defeated the wrestler, who Vincent said placed high at the state tournament, but the match-ups were closer thanks to Taddese’s extra effort. That determination was evident to Vincent and Taddese’s other coaches, who saw how much he hated to lose.
Track was Taddese’s best sport, Vincent said, because of how fast and explosive he was. His last race left a mark on Vincent, showing how much Taddese had grown as an athlete and a person throughout high school.
At the state championships, Taddese’s 4x100 team was in second place, racing for a podium spot. Then, the worst thing possible in the sport happened: His team dropped their baton, disqualifying them from the event.
As much as Taddese hated to lose, he showed his teammates nothing but love.
“He didn’t yell at everybody; he comforted his team,” Vincent said. “I thought that showed a lot of growth and just some character from a kid’s last race ever … I thought that was really big of him.”
City moves to strengthen parking lot security
Taddese’s family has been distraught since his death, according to Bernard.
The prominence of the case has caused them to be flooded with support and videos of the incident sent from people who were there. The family has not watched the videos, however, unable to stomach watching their loved ones’ last moments, according to Bernard.
Taddese’s workplace, HER Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to cover funeral expenses that raised more than $21,000 of its $24,000 goal.
Vincent heard the news from Taddese’s head track coach. They both shared their dismay as they processed the news of the death of one of their former players.
“I saw the video that was going around, and I was just like, ‘oh my goodness, man’” Vincent said. “Why can’t these kids just understand that life is precious, man? It’s just so sad seeing these kids throw their lives away over petty pride. I can’t understand it.”
The shooting led to Mayor Quinton Lucas calling for stricter parking lot security, days after a new ordinance was referred to the City Council’s Finance, Governance, and Public Safety Committee. The proposal would require stricter regulations for surface parking lots in the city’s entertainment districts, including the Central Business District, 18th & Vine, Country Club Plaza, Westport and the Crossroads.
The shooting also sparked changes from Copaken Brooks, the company which manages the lot, which plans to install gates and hire extra security to secure the lot. The firm has its own armed and unarmed security force, which patrol its numerous downtown properties, according to Copaken principal Jon Copaken.
The mayor’s office also announced a collaboration between Copaken Brooks and the city to increase security efforts downtown. The collaboration is in alignment with an ordinance passed in January, which set aside $1 million to deploy off-duty officers and deputies to entertainment districts, according to the mayor’s spokesperson.
This ordinance is in addition to KCPD’s entertainment district plan, implemented last November, which sent additional officers and units to entertainment districts. The plan is still in full effect, according to police spokesperson Capt. Jake Becchina, with targeted initiatives for street racing and illegal sideshows.
Bernard wondered why Lucas isn’t using his voice to help police find the shooters.
Police took Taddese’s phone and vehicle as evidence, which alarmed the family, Bernard said, explaining some of the family’s reservations about the police investigation.
Also, she said, the family found out about Taddese’s death from one of his friends he went out with that night. They had to reach out to detectives for information, Bernard said, citing more reasons Taddese’s family is not finding any comfort in the police investigation.
But any outcome of the investigation won’t be able to bring back Taddese, who loved ones say was such a spark for those around him.
“A true and loyal friend, Kane never hesitated to look out for others. He was determined, protective, and always carried himself with strength and kindness,” his obituary reads.
“Kane will be remembered for his loyalty, determination, and the love he shared with all who were fortunate enough to know him.”
This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
