59-year-old man found shot to death on Kansas City sidewalk
Police responding to reports of gunfire Monday morning found the body of a 59-year-old man lying on the sidewalk in a Kansas City neighborhood.
The shooting occurred shortly before 6 a.m. Police had received calls about the sound of shots being fired in the 2600 block of 35th Street.
Arriving officers found the man’s body on a sidewalk near 35th and Montgall Avenue. The victim had an apparent gunshot wound, said Capt. Tim Hernandez, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department.
On Tuesday, police identified the victim as Reginald L. Rembert.
The deadly shooting was just a block away from the corner at 35th and Prospect Avenue where Troy Robertson stands daily holding a sign in an attempt fight crime and bring peace to his neighborhood.
“I’m here because I want the violence to stop in my community,” he said. “I want to be able to build unity in the community.”
As crime scene investigators and detectives gathered evidence up the street, Robertson stood on the corner holding his red sign with the message, “HONK 4 the YOUTH.” Honk, he explained, stands for “Helping others notice kings.”
“When people honk at us, it means they see us,” Robertson said. “It means we are catching their attention . . . We are kings and queens.”
This summer, Robertson’s signs have all carried messages related to local youth. One way to reduce crime among the youth is to give them something to do.
“Right now, all they got is crime and poverty,” he said. “When they get something to do, they got something to expect.”
He said he can’t help but feel the pain when he sees things like the homicide Monday.
“It breaks me down,” he said. “Sometimes I’m holding a sign and I just break down crying. These signs mean so much to me and I want it (the violence) to stop.”
There was no suspect information available from police for Monday’s shooting.
The shooting was Kansas City’s 66th homicide of the year.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Kansas City Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
This story was originally published July 1, 2019 at 8:27 AM.
