Teen on video points gun at child’s head; Independence police want to find him

Independence police are asking for the public’s help finding a person of interest after a video on social media showed a teenager pointing a gun at a child’s head.

The video also shows the child being punched several times by another person.

Police are looking for 17-year-old Alexander Schrader, a white male, about 5-foot-5, 120 pounds, with blue eyes and blond hair.

“We take incidents like this very seriously and handling cases involving violent crime is a top priority,” Independence police said in a written statement.

The video is “disturbing,” the statement said. The gun is pointed at the child’s forehead, and the child is subsequently punched several times.

Several people on Sunday notified police of the incident, which appeared to have occurred Saturday.

Anyone who can help police locate Schrader is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477) or the Independence tips line at 816-325-7777, or email leads@indepmo.org.

This story was originally published October 23, 2018 at 1:48 PM.