Kansas City police investigate two homicides, including one at construction site
Kansas City police said they were investigating two separate homicides Tuesday.
One crime scene was located at 43rd and Askew, the police department said. Another was found at a construction site in the Northland.
About 7:30 a.m. officers were sent to a residential construction site in the 7300 block of N.E. 46th Terrace, according to the Kansas City Police Department.
A worker on the scene said crews saw a body and alerted police. Officers found a man unresponsive and medical personnel later declared him dead.
The death is being investigated as a homicide, said Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a police spokesman. The victim was later identified as 39-year-old Travis Stamper.
“As to what led up to that and the cause of death, it is being investigated right now,” Becchina said. “It is at a residential construction site there. Obviously, it is suspicious in nature and detectives want to be overly careful in investigating that fully right now.”
The second homicide was reported before 11:30 a.m. when police were called to 43rd Street and Askew Avenue for a reported shooting.
Officers found a man in front of a residence who had been shot. He was declared dead at the scene. Police said they were canvassing the area, but did not have any suspect information.
“Detectives are looking for any witnesses or anyone who may have saw or heard anything,” Becchina said. “They don’t have a lot of information to go on now so they are hoping to get some public help.”
Becchina said the shooting occurred in a neighborhood and it appears a lot of people were home at the time.
“We are hoping that there were some people were probably around maybe heard or saw something, either a vehicle or somebody there at the scene to give a better idea of what led up to this shooting,” he said.
Police were called to the crime scene at 43rd and Askew about 11:30 a.m. Officers found a man shot in front of a residence. He was declared dead at the scene.
The police department later identified the man as Elijah K. Zakka, 44.
Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to call the Crimestoppers TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477 or the police department’s homicide unit at 816-234-5043. A reward of up to $25,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest in these cases.
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 12:30 PM.
