Man found shot and killed early Monday at Olathe apartment building
A homicide investigation is underway in Olathe after police discovered a man with an apparent gunshot wound early Monday.
Officers were called to a disturbance shortly after 2:20 a.m. in the 15900 block of West 127th Street, according to the Olathe Police Department. There, police found the 41-year-old victim, who died at the scene.
Police later identified the man as Lawrence D. Flaxbeard.
Sgt. Joel Yeldell, a police spokesman, said Flaxbeard was found near an apartment door at the Wingfield Apartments, where yellow cautionary tape remained Monday afternoon to protect the crime scene.
Detectives were looking into several persons of interest and trying to “piece together the puzzle” of what unfolded, Yeldell said.
“In situations like this, when you have someone that’s a victim of a homicide, we’re really trying to piece together the story for them,” he said. “’Cause they don’t have the voice to tell the story themselves.”
Police asked anyone with information to call the police department at 913-971-6950 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
The killing marked the second homicide this year in Olathe. There had also been two by this time last year.
The fatal shooting was also the 150th homicide this year across the Kansas City metro, according to data compiled by The Star, which includes police shootings. By this time in 2019, there had been 107 killings in the region.
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 13, 2020 at 11:20 AM.
