In 2021, 25 children were killed in KC metro area. A look at their too-short lives
Moments before he was killed, Carlos Ambriz-Garcia shouted to his mother, who was parked at the stop sign a house away.
He was standing in the yard outside his grandmother’s Kansas City, Kansas, home. Amapola Garcia was in her car a couple of yards away, en route to bringing her son his favorite order from McDonald’s.
“Mom, go inside,” family and friends said they heard the 16-year-old yell.
Garcia didn’t hear the gunshots over her youngest daughter singing the “Itsy Bitsy Spider.”
Garcia believes that in his last moments, in his outcry, Carlos was protecting his family. She believes it was his final act of kindness in an attempt to keep his family from the gunfire that was then coming at him.
She didn’t see Carlos until he was already on the ground.
Garcia knelt beside her eldest son and covered the bleeding bullet holes with her hands. He seemed to come back to life twice while she gave him CPR.
But by the time the ambulance arrived, she said, it was too late.
When he took this last breath in front of his mother, Carlos, a 10th grader at Wyandotte High School, became the last of more than two dozen children killed in the Kansas City metro in 2021. The victims ranged in age from 4 months to 17 years old. All but two were shot.
Carlos made breakfast for his 9-year-old brother in the mornings, often acting as a father figure to the younger ones. When his older sister was in high school, he made a point to show up to all of her band performances.
While he took on many responsibilities beyond what’s typically asked of teenagers, Carlos was still a kid who loved to play video games and go hanging out with his friends, his mother said.
“We never knew that this was going to be it,” Garcia said a week after her son’s death, wrapped in the black Levi’s sweater he’d been killed in. “I thought he was going to bury me.”
She plans to bury him with a pair of white and red Jordan sneakers his sister bought him for his birthday and the 20-piece chicken nuggets that never made it to him.
Youth killings up in 2021
Carlos was one of 25 youth under the age of 18 killed in the Kansas City metro in 2021.
In 2020, 19 youth were killed across the metro, mostly by shootings.
In March, after two 15-year-old friends were shot and killed in Kansas City, Rosilyn Temple, leader of the anti-violence group KC Mothers in Charge, attended services for both teens.
“We cannot keep allowing our children to be murdered in our neighborhoods and our streets,” she said at the time. “(We) cannot allow it to be the norm.”
Over the next nine months, 21 more youth would be killed across the metro, most by gunfire.
Kelly Wachel, a spokeswoman for Kansas City Public Schools, told The Star that in 2021, the district lost 12 students to violence.
This KCPS count includes students who were no longer under-age, like 18-year-old Elijaah Boston, who was just weeks from graduating from Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts and in the process of joining the Air Force when he was shot to death while walking home from work.
In total, 244 lives were violently lost across the metro in 2021. Of those homicides, 157 people were killed in Kansas City, Missouri, making 2021 the second deadliest year in the city’s recorded history, following a record 182 killings in 2020.
Here’s what’s known about each of the children killed last year.
Those killed
Carlos Ambriz-Garcia, 16, on Dec. 22 in Kansas City, Kansas
Police were dispatched just before 7:45 p.m. on Dec. 22 to the 2700 block of Steward Avenue where they found Carlos suffering from gunshot wounds. He was declared dead at the scene. No suspect has been identified in his killing.
Kaleb Martin, 17, on Dec. 14, in Kansas City, Missouri
Kaleb, a senior at Southeast High School, was working toward an automotive certification and planned to attend Penn Valley Community College after graduating, according to his obituary. He also had a love for animals, and helped care for four pets with his younger siblings.
Police found Kaleb on the ground suffering from fatal gunshot wounds at about 7 a.m. on Dec. 14 in the 7000 block of Agnes Avenue.
Hugo Hernandez-Vasquez, 16, on Dec. 3 in Kansas City, Kansas
Hugo, a student at Wyandotte High School, often brought home trophies from boxing competitions, family told FOX4.
He was among multiple people shot just before 11 p.m. on Dec. 3 in the 1400 block of Southwest Boulevard. Hugo, who’d been out dancing at a party that night, was the only shooting victim whose injuries were fatal.
Cariya Reed, 7, on Dec. 1 in Kansas City, Kansas
Family described Cariya as sweet, adorable and loving.
The young girl was killed after the man accused of shooting her, Keith Johnson Jr., 38, allegedly barricaded himself inside an apartment near North 55th Street and Everett Avenue with Cariya and her 3-year-old brother after shooting their mother on Dec. 1.
Kamari Bridges, 15, on Oct. 31 in Kansas City, Missouri
Police responded to a shooting at about 8:15 p.m. on Halloween night in the area of East 54th Street and Prospect Avenue where they found a teenager in a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds. Kamari was taken to the hospital where he later died.
Michael Parks, 17, on Oct. 13 in Kansas City, Missouri
Police were called around 9 p.m. Oct. 13 to the intersection of 37th Street and Wayne Avenue on reports of gunshots. There, in the street, they found Michael, who had been fatally shot.
Derrez Green, 16, on Oct. 13 in Kansas City, Missouri
Officers were called at about 12:45 a.m. on Oct. 9 to a shooting in the 5300 block of Persimmon Trail where they found Derrez suffering from gunshot wounds in a car in a parking lot. He died four days later at the hospital.
Gabriel Williams, 14, on Sept. 24 in Kansas City, Missouri
Gabriel, known as “Lil Gabe,” was remembered for spending time with family and friends, and as a “force to be reckoned on the football field,” according to his obituary. He was a student at Blue Springs South High School.
Just after 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 24, officers were called to the area of Bannister Road and James A. Reed Road on a report of gunshots. A few minutes later, a second 911 call came in, reporting a shooting in the 9500 block of James A. Reed Road. There, police found Gabriel suffering from fatal gunshot wounds.
Barry Sims III, infant, Kansas City, Missouri
At 4 months old, Barry was already a “bundle of joy,” loved ones wrote in his obituary.
Authorities were initially sent on Sept. 11 to the 4200 block of North Locust Street after receiving a report of a baby not breathing. On Dec. 16, police ruled Barry’s death a homicide.
Damario L. Gentry, 15, on Aug. 21 in Kansas City, Missouri
Officers were called about 7:45 p.m. on Aug. 21 to a shooting in front of a home in the 3500 block of Agnes Avenue, where they found the young teen on a front porch suffering from fatal gunshot wounds.
Gatlin White, 15, on Aug. 5 in Kansas City, Kansas
Gatlin was sibling to two brothers and two sisters, according to his obituary.
On the morning of Aug. 5, officers were called to S. 63rd St. and Holliday Drive where they found Gatlin, who had been shot. He died soon after.
Raymond Ross, 17, on Aug. 4 in Kansas City, Kansas
Officers found Raymond’s body after they responded to a report of gunshots at about 4 a.m. Aug. 4 in the 600 block of Rowland Avenue. He had been shot to death.
Terrell Bell, 15, on June 8 in Kansas City, Missouri
As a freshman, Terrell was already on the varsity football team. He dreamed of going to an all-Black college and playing pro ball. Family told The Star that he loved to cook seafood, dance to TikToks and crack jokes.
The Ruskin High School student was taken to the hospital with fatal wounds at about 2:40 p.m. on June 8 after he was shot near East 109th Street and Sycamore Terrace, close to Sycamore Park, police said.
Kaden Bauswell, 15, on June 8 in Kansas City, Kansas
Kaden enjoyed fishing and camping, but the Washington High School student had also recently gotten hooked on “Grey’s Anatomy,” family said in his obituary.
Police found Kaden, the oldest of three siblings, suffering from fatal gunshot wounds just before noon on June 8 in the 6600 block of Cleveland Avenue.
Annetreuna Bowden, 17, on May 27 in Kansas City, Missouri
Annetreuna was known by many names, including Tree, Sunshine, Bella Pooh, Butterfly and Angel, but most loved ones called her “NaNu,” family said in her obituary. When she was 4 years old, she decided to become a vegetarian to save animals’ lives.
Just after midnight on May 17, police responding to several reports of multiple gunshots. They found Annetreuna’s body in the common area of an entryway of a building at the Stonegate Meadows Apartments in the 10500 block of East 42nd Street.
Lantz Stephenson Jr., 17, on May 16 in Grandview
Officers responded to a park in the 13600 block of Byars Road following a call of a suicidal person armed with a gun who wanted to confront police. When they arrived, police say Lantz “aggressively approached officers” with what was believed to be a handgun. Two officers fired, fatally striking the teen. The weapon Lantz was armed with was later identified as a BB gun.
Abdulwahid Abdulaziz, 16, and Abdirahman Abdulaziz, 14, on April 30 in Kansas City, Missouri
Brothers Abdurahman and Abdirahman were leaders in their community from a young age, family told The Star after their deaths. The boys loved going to the mosque and reading the Quran, and were often spotted playing basketball with their friends.
Officers were called at about 11:30 p.m. on April 30 to the area of East Eighth and Olive streets on a reported shooting where they found the brothers suffering from gunshot wounds just outside of an apartment. Police said the victims were killed in a domestic dispute involving a family member. The teenagers were shot after returning home from the Ramadan service.
Elijah Lockhart, 17, on April 28 in Independence
Elijah, who attended Bullard High School, spent many of his free hours playing the drums, writing rap lyrics and learning skateboarding tricks with his dad, according to his obituary.
The teen was found fatally shot just before 2 a.m. on April 28 outside a home in the 500 block of South Crescent Avenue.
Deontae Thomas, 14, on April 18 in Kansas City, Missouri
Police were called to the Hometowne Studios hotel at 4301 N. Corrington Ave. for a shooting around 7 p.m. on April 17. Officers found Deontae inside, suffering from a gunshot wound. Deontae was taken to a hospital, where he underwent surgery, but he died the following day.
BJ Henderson, 12, on April 14 in Leavenworth
BJ, a student at University Academy, was an all-star junior athlete on the basketball court and the football field. He aspired to be an NFL star.
The youngest of five children was running errands with his sister when he was fatally shot the evening of April 14 in a drive-by shooting outside a pharmacy in Leavenworth.
Dominique Nelson, 15, on March 20 in Kansas City, Missouri
Dominique’s family was constantly impressed by her maturity, honesty and loyalty — and her vocabulary. Family told The Star she was a “serial entrepreneur” with dreams to cut hair and make music, just like her father, who was shot and killed in 2009.
Police were called to a shooting just after 10 p.m. March 20 in the area of East 73rd Street and Norton Avenue. Officers first found Dominique, who had been fatally shot. They found the body of her friend, Dominik Simmons, the next day.
Dominik Simmons, 15, on March 20 in Kansas City, Missouri
Dominik had a signature look, his “Kool-Aid smile,” his father told The Star. The second-youngest of five siblings, he kept everyone in the room laughing. He spoke of being a chef when he grew up.
Police were called to a shooting just after 10 p.m. March 20 in the area of East 73rd Street and Norton Avenue. Officers first found Dominique Nelson, who had been fatally shot. They found Dominik’s body the next day.
Sawyer Oliver, infant, on March 9 in Kansas City, Missouri
Officers responded just after 6:15 a.m. on March 9 to the 5400 block of Harrison Street on a report of a 4-month-old boy who wasn’t breathing. The infant died at the hospital after suffering from a forehead injury, complex skull fracture, brain bleed and chest trauma.
Sawyer’s mother told FOX4 that she hopes to remember her son’s “innocent smile and laugh.”
5. Jayson Ugwuh Jr., 16, on Jan. 10 in Kansas City, Missouri
Jayson dreamed of becoming a barber, often practicing on his basketball teammates and brothers, according to his obituary. The Raytown High School student was also part of a youth ministry team.
Jayson was the older brother of Jayden Ugwuh who was also shot and killed in Kansas City. In 2016 Jayson held his dying brother in his arms after bullets struck the 9-year-old’s body, killing him.
Officers responded to a shooting just after 7:15 p.m. Jan. 10 in the 5600 block of Paloma Avenue where they found Jayson suffering from gunshot wounds. He later died at the hospital.
This story was originally published January 3, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
