Man fatally shot Wednesday in KC; witnesses say truck wrecked nearby may be involved
A man was fatally shot Wednesday evening in Kansas City, police said.
Officers were called just before 7 p.m. to the intersection of E. 40th Street and Tracy Avenue, where they found an unresponsive man suffering from gunshot wounds in the middle of the street, Kansas City Police Department Spokeswoman Doaa Al-Ashkar said. Police later identied the victim as 35-year-old Lodiller Styles.
Witnesses told police they saw a pickup truck leaving the scene. Officers later found an “abandoned and wrecked” pickup near 40th and Highland that may have been connected to the shooting, Al-Ashkar said.
Some vehicles inside the police tape looked like they’d also been involved in a crash, including a white van with a visibly damaged front end. Detectives are working to figure out if any of the vehicles were tied to the shooting, Al-Ashkar said.
“It’s just so disheartening to see another family suffer the loss of life, suffer the loss of one of their loved one, someone they may have seen earlier today or just yesterday or whenever,” Al-Ashkar said as she stood in front of the police tape strung around the block.
“Any time anyone is lost from our community, it’s disheartening, and we need to come together and we need to try to get these suspects in custody ...” she added.
The killing was the 111th homicide in Kansas City this year, according to data kept by The Star that includes fatal police shootings. There had been 80 homicides in Kansas City by this time last year.
An award up to $25,000 is available for information leading to an arrest in any homicide investigation, police said.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
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 22, 2020 at 10:37 PM.
