Mother of 15-year-old killed outside basketball game sues Kansas City Public Schools
The mother of a 15-year-old who was fatally shot outside of a Central High School basketball game is suing Kansas City Public Schools, saying her death resulted from failure by officials to follow the district’s own safety policy.
The lawsuit, filed last month in Jackson County Circuit Court, contends KCPS mishandled an incident inside the gymnasium that quickly led to gunfire just outside the high school’s front doors three years ago.
An’Janique Wright, 15, was shot and killed when someone opened fire on her group of friends after waiting for them in the school parking lot. The shooter and others in her group had been told to leave the game that night after a fight between the two groups of young people, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit claims Wright and her friends told KCPS personnel and security staff “that they were concerned for their safety outside of the building” and were “forced to leave” the school without protection despite those concerns.
The district declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Named as defendants in the lawsuit are the school district and top administrators, including Superintendent Mark Bedell. Also named as a defendant is the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners, which oversees the police department and partners with the district to provide resource officers on its campuses.
The shooting unfolded on the night of Feb. 12, 2019, outside Central High School, also known as the Central Academy of Excellence, at 3221 Indiana Ave. Wright was not enrolled at the school, but had purchased a ticket to the basketball game with a group of friends.
Inside there was an argument between Wright’s friends and a group associated with two other teenagers police later identified as Jamaya Norfleet and Taylor McMillon. The wrongful death suit alleges the second group was antagonizing Wright and looking for a fight.
“Rather than separating the groups, ordering the Antagonizing Group to leave, or otherwise de-escalating the confrontation, KCPS personnel and security staff … simply ordered both groups to leave the building,” lawyers for Wright’s family allege in the lawsuit.
According to the police investigation, the two groups were escorted out separately. Surveillance video later reviewed by detectives showed Norfleet and McMillon went to a minivan and then parked near the school doors where Wright and her friends would exit.
As the second group of teenagers left the school, Norfleet allegedly fired five shots from a 9mm pistol at them. Wright was taken to the hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to the chest and died there.
Norfleet and McMillon were identified through a review of the surveillance footage outside the school with the assistance of a school resource officer, according to court records. Both were later convicted in Wright’s killing.
In the wrongful death suit filed by Wright’s family, lawyers contend that school officials were aware of previous cases of violence at similar events. They allege the school district was responsible for ensuring a safe environment for Wright and others on the high school’s grounds.
Other allegations in the lawsuit allege the district failed to follow district safety policies, adequately train security staff or conduct proper security assessments of Central High School.
McMillon, now 21, the alleged getaway driver, was a student enrolled at Central High School when Wright was killed. Officers arrested her and Norfleet the day after the shooting after tracking a minivan with temporary tags and a missing hubcap that was seen fleeing the scene. An anonymous tip was also placed with police saying they were involved, according to court records.
McMillon pleaded guilty in 2021 to being an accessory to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 5 years in Missouri prison. Norfleet pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action and received a 28-year sentence.
The Star’s Sarah Ritter and Luke Nozicka contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 10:04 AM.
