7 people were killed across Kansas City metro in the last week. Here’s what we know.

Seven people were shot and killed across the Kansas City metro area in the last week, four of which happened early Sunday.

Four of the shootings in the last week were reported in Kansas City which brought the total homicide count this year to 24. By this time last year, the city had suffered 20 homicides.

The other three happened in a single incident in Lenexa, the first homicides of 2022 for the city.

Last year, Kansas City saw its second-deadliest year on record, with 157 killings, according to data maintained by The Star. In 2020, 182 people were killed, making it the worst year on record.

So far this year, the metro as a whole has witnessed 41 homicides.

Here’s a timeline of the violence across the metro over the past week.

On Monday, Feb. 21, police were called around 12:45 a.m. for a triple shooting in a parking lot at Linwood Boulevard and Agnes Avenue., just outside the Santa Fe neighborhood.

The Star’s analysis of public health and firearm data found that high rates of poverty and lack of secure housing were two large factors driving up gun violence in the area.

Officers found Ashley Pettiford, 31, and Jermaine Jackson, 34, fatally shot inside a vehicle. A 5-year-old boy was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

As of Wednesday, the condition of the boy had been upgraded from critical condition to serious and he was expected to survive, said Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department.

The next day, on Feb. 22, Police were dispatched to St. Luke’s Hospital after a juvenile teenager was taken there, with critical injuries by a private vehicle. The 16-year old, later identified as Way La Baw, was pronounced dead by medical staff there.

An investigation revealed Baw was fatally shot, but detectives are still working to determine the exact location of the injury and are also developing persons of interest, Becchina said.

At about 1:20 a.m. on Sunday, Lenexa police found three people with gunshot wounds inside a home in the 8400 block of Laurelwood Street. One person was declared dead at the scene. The other two were taken to the hospital where they later died. The victims have yet to be identified by police.

While the case is still under investigation, Lenexa police are not looking for additional suspects or people who may have been involved, officer Danny Chavez, a spokesman for the Lenexa Police Department, said.

Later that same morning, a man was shot and killed in the Northland in the 3800 block of Northwest 85th Terrace by the resident of the home. Officers made contact with the homeowner, who said an armed intruder had broken in, said Capt. Leslie Foreman, a spokeswoman for the department.

The victim has not yet been identified.

Foreman said that police did not yet know whether the alleged intruder and the resident of the home had any relation or knew one another. Police had initially been called to a disturbance nearby, but it was unclear also whether there was any connection to the shooting.

This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 1:19 PM.