Teenager fatally shot, two others injured outside Raytown Plaza Tuesday evening
A teenager was fatally shot Tuesday evening in Raytown, police said. Two other people were injured.
Police started receiving calls around 8:30 p.m. of reports of gunshots in the area of Raytown Plaza shopping center in the 6100 block of Blue Ridge Boulevard, said Capt. Dyon Harper, a spokesman for the Raytown Police Department.
First responders found a teenager with gunshot wounds outside a smoke shop on the corner of East 63rd Street and Blue Ridge Boulevard, Harper said. He was declared dead at the scene.
About a block away at the opposite end of the shopping center police also found two young men with injuries. Both were taken to the hospital, though only one had a confirmed gunshot wound at the time.
Neither of their conditions were available late Tuesday, Harper said.
The teenager’s name and age had not been released as of midnight. No suspect information was immediately available.
Shell casings were found at the scene, Harper said, though he couldn’t immediately provide an exact count or location, as the investigation is ongoing.
“It’s a very extensive scene,” he added. “It’s the length of the entire shopping center.”
About two dozen people were still gathered around the edges of the scene at 11:30 p.m.
A young woman gripped the yellow tape as she watched detectives move around the scene. Police lights illuminated the tears on her cheeks.
Another woman approached, draping her arm around the grieving woman’s back.
The blue tarp hiding the teenager’s body from their view was still up three hours after he had been gunned down.
Anyone with information about the homicide is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
Gun violence will be the subject of a new, statewide journalism project The Star is undertaking in Missouri this year in partnership with the national service program Report for America and sponsored in part by Missouri Foundation for Health. As part of this project, The Star will seek the community’s help.
To contribute, visit Report for America online at reportforamerica.org.
This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 1:04 AM.
