Longtime barber of KC dad killed in Northland says kids were ‘everything to him’
Jim Lower hated to hear about Monday’s deadly shooting in the Northland, an area where he once owned a barbershop for decades and would worry about growing violence.
Then he learned that the man who was killed was Chris Wells, 41 — someone he watched grow up in his barber chair. Someone who he says had turned into a great father and husband, who was dedicated to his wife and four kids.
“It just made me sick,” Lower said Tuesday afternoon. “It’s a sad deal, man. I just can’t believe it. … I’ve seen that guy turn into a real man. He put his wife and kids first, I promise you that.”
Friends and family across the Kansas City area are grieving the loss of Wells as police are piecing together what happened Monday morning and why. Officers responded to the shooting about 7:30 a.m. Monday and found Wells lying in the street in the 2500 block of Northeast 78th Street.
Well’s neighbor, Jeffrey King, is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in his death. King was being held Tuesday evening in the Clay County jail on a $5 million bond.
A candlelight vigil was planned for Tuesday evening to honor Wells. Because of his love for the Kansas City Chiefs, people were encouraged to wear their team gear to the vigil.
Lower recalls, decades ago, when Wells was 14 and hopped into his barber chair and declared he wanted the then-popular “bowl cut.” The barber, who owned and operated Jim’s Brighton Barber Shop, remembers getting an OK from Wells’ dad.
From then on — until about four years ago when Lower retired — the two became friends as Wells came in about every three to four weeks for a cut.
“I knew the kid real well,” Lower said. “He was a good kid, a hardworking kid, you know.”
That only continued as he became an adult. Wells was “relentless” when it came to working, Lower said.
“He’d say, ‘I have a family to take care of,’” Lower said. “’I want to provide for my family.’”
A neighbor who wished not to be named described Wells as a nice guy and said he once offered to help her clean up after she had a garage sale. He also asked if she needed help moving a tree limb they cut down.
Many posted on social media Tuesday about Wells, whom they said was kind and caring. Posters said they were thinking of his wife and kids.
Through the years, Lower said, Wells would talk about his family while in the barber’s chair. Wells would laugh at something one of his children did and speak highly about his wife and how much she did for the family.
“A lot of guys don’t talk about that stuff in a man’s barber shop,” he said. “He was very, very passionate about his wife and kids. … The kids meant everything to him.”
And as Lower deals with the news that Wells was killed, he’s thinking about those left behind. The loved ones that his customer and friend would often talk about.
The Star’s Kendrick Calfee contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 5:30 AM.
