18-year-old charged in triple shooting that left two dead, child injured in Kansas City
An 18-year-old who was arrested after a standoff Friday night in Kansas City has been charged in a triple shooting that left two people dead and a 5-year-old boy injured.
David Emerson was charged Friday with two counts of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault and three counts of armed criminal action, according to court records.
Around 1 a.m. on Feb. 21, Kansas City police arrived at Linwood Boulevard and Agnes Avenue where they found Ashley Pettiford, 31, and Jermaine Jackson, 34, dead inside a white SUV. Pettiford’s 5-year-old son Prince Moore had been shot in his right eye and was taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital.
Prince was released from the hospital Thursday.
On Friday, the victims’ families and community members gathered at the scene of the shooting for a vigil organized by KC Mothers in Charge.
Crime is not just a police problem, said Rosilyn Temple, who founded Mothers in Charge.
“This is our problem. And its becoming our children’s problem,” she said, gesturing towards Prince, who attended the vigil with a bandage over his eye.
Carolyn Pettiford, Ashley Pettiford’s mother, said it will be awhile before Prince has recovered from his injuries.
“And of course he’s going to have to get used to the fact that his mother is gone,” she said.
Around the same time as the vigil, the Kansas City Police Department said officers were responding to a standoff in the 12700 block of East 59th Terrace where a homicide suspect was observed.
Emerson exited the residence shortly after 7:40 p.m. and was charged in the murders, said Officer Donna Drake, a police spokeswoman.
According to court documents filed in the case, surveillance footage shows the suspected shooter walk up to the victim’s car and open and close the passenger door to the SUV. He then runs around to the driver’s side.
From there, the suspect opens the door, leans in and discharges a firearm. The suspect is seen learning in the vehicle twice more, firing inside, before taking a white sack and fleeing north on Agnes Avenue, records said.
Emerson’s bond was set at $500,000. A defense attorney for him was not listed in court records.
