Kansas City reports its fourth homicide in five days after man is found fatally shot
Update: Police identified the victim as 19-year-old Jalen M. Davis and said detectives are making headway in piecing together the events prior to the shooting.
A man was found shot to death outside a vehicle early Friday after a caller asked police to check out a suspicious car in front of a Kansas City home, police said.
A person called police shortly after 2 a.m. asking that officers be sent to check on the car, which was in front of a home in the 7300 block of East 84th Street, said Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department.
While officers were on the way, police were advised that a person had been shot and was unresponsive, Becchina said.
Arriving officers found a man who appeared to have been shot outside the car. Emergency medical workers responded and declared the man dead.
Detectives are working to identify the victim and determine his association to the car and the area. Crime scene investigators collected evidence at the scene.
No suspect information was available.
The man’s killing is the 147th homicide of the year in Kansas City, according to data kept The Star, which includes police shootings. That compares to 113 homicides by this time in 2019.
Across the entire Kansas City metro area, there have been 209 homicides so far this year.
Anyone with information about the killing is asked to call homicide detectives at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). There is a reward of up to $25,000 offered for information leading to an arrest.
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 September 18, 2020 at 8:32 AM.
