Slain KC 15-year-old was a ‘goofy, hardworking kid,’ mom says
A Kansas City mom said she remembers her son for his goofy personality, and how he always wanted to take care of people. Qu’Sha Barbee, 35, said there was never a time her son Lucas Long struggled to make friends.
“He loved people,” Barbee said in a phone call Friday. “He was very protective of them.”
Long, 15, was shot and killed Jan. 8 when gunfire erupted in the 6600 block of Monroe Avenue. When officers arrived at the scene, a group of people led them to a parking lot at an apartment complex near Swope Park. There, they found Long, who had been shot.
Paramedics responded and pronounced Long dead at the scene.
Police said a preliminary investigation indicated that Long had had an interaction with several other people that escalated to gunfire. Unidentified men fled the scene in a vehicle after the shooting, police said.
As of Saturday, the Kansas City Police Department could not provide any updates on the case. A KCPD spokesperson said detectives are still looking for witnesses.
Barbee has been searching for answers since the afternoon she learned her son was gone. In a text this week, she said police have not identified suspects.
Memories of time spent with her son played over in Barbee’s mind this week — missing and mourning the young man she knew as both a class clown and a gentleman.
“When I would get home, he would rush out to meet me and grab my things. He wouldn’t let me carry anything inside,” Barbee said. “I never had to carry a bag.”
KC teen was a ‘hard worker’
Long attended Southeast High School, where he played basketball and was a percussionist for the school’s orchestra. Before moving to Kansas City a few years ago, he and his mom lived in Raytown, where he used to play football.
Long dedicated his life to Christ at a young age, his mom said, and he was a member of Glad Tidings Assembly of God church in Kansas City.
Taking after his grandfather and late father, Lucas Long Sr., Long was known for loving to work with his hands, Barbee said. He did construction work and roofing, helped cut down trees and did other landscaping jobs. He also learned to paint from his grandfather, who was a painter.
Long was a hard worker, but he didn’t always enjoy school, his mom said.
“You could give him a job to do, and he would get it done,” Barbee said. “But he struggled with school work sometimes.”
He was, in some ways, a typical teenager, Barbee said. But in other ways, she said, he had matured beyond his years.
Long would sometimes get into trouble for being out past curfew, but it was always for a reason Long felt was good and important, Barbee said. When a group of friends would hang out, he always made sure people had rides home before he left, she said.
“One of the things he would get in trouble with me over was he would always wait for somebody’s Uber to come before he left when he’s supposed to be home,” Barbee said. “Or he would walk some of the girls home so they didn’t have to walk by themselves.”
“It was just an instinct he had, I guess,” Barbee said. “He showed up like a man. He was that way with his siblings, too.”
Services planned for Long
Since Long’s death, Barbee said she has been overwhelmed with support from her large family and friends. Barbee, who works for Kansas City Public Schools, said she has been gifted more than enough food and hasn’t spent an hour alone since her son died.
“People, some that I have not seen in years, have called, have cried, have showed up, have left stuff on my doorstep,” Barbee said. “It’s been overwhelming.”
A visitation is scheduled for 10 a.m. Jan. 24 at the Mount Christian Worship Center, 1800 E. 79th St., in Kansas City. A funeral service will follow at 11 a.m.
People can send flowers and gifts to the family by visiting the funeral home’s website.
Detectives are urging anyone with information about the shooting to come forward. Anyone with information should contact homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-8477.
