Person of interest in custody in shooting that left 3 dead, 5 wounded in Kansas City
Update: On Monday, Kansas City police identified a sixth person who was injured in the Sunday shooting that left three dead.
A person of interest is in custody following a triple homicide early Sunday in Kansas City that also left five people wounded.
A man believed to be connected to the shooting was taken into custody just after 5 p.m. Sunday at a home in the 5300 block of Martha Truman Road in Grandview, Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman with the Kansas City Police Department, said in an email Sunday evening.
“The investigation is still ongoing, and detectives will be working this evening to gather investigative findings to present a case to prosecutors for consideration of applicable charges,” Becchina said.
The man’s name was not released as of Sunday evening. Becchina said it will be made public if charges are filed.
Hours earlier, at about 4:30 a.m., police responded to reports of gunfire near 57th Street and Prospect Avenue, where they found two men and one woman shot and unresponsive in a parking lot and the street just south of the intersection. All three died.
Family members identified the victims as Nikko Manning, who turned 22 on Saturday, Camden Brown, 27, and Jasity “Jas” Strong, a mother of two who turned 28 the day of the fatal shooting.
At least five additional shooting victims were taken to different hospitals by ambulance or private vehicle and are believed to have injuries that are not life-threatening, police said.
“I am grateful for the fast work of the women and men of the Kansas City Police Department in identifying a subject of interest in the 57th and Prospect shooting,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas wrote on Twitter Sunday night. “I hope we find justice for the victims there and throughout our community last night.”
Including Sunday’s shootings, there have been 99 homicides in Kansas City so far this year, according to data tracked by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings. At this time last year, there had been 74 killings.
About a month earlier, there was also a shooting at Klymax Lounge, at 4242 Indiana Ave., just 2.5 miles away that killed three people and injured two.
By some definitions, both incidents could be considered mass shootings. According to the Gun Violence Archive, an incident in which at least four people are injured or killed besides the shooter can be considered a mass shooting. Other organizations, like Everytown for Gun Safety, say that if at least four people other than the shooter are fatally shot, the incident is a mass shooting.
Police chief Stacey Graves said officials talked with community members near the scene Sunday morning about violence in the city and what can be done to reduce shootings.
“People start out at such an escalated point that if there’s a disagreement or an argument or anger, some people in Kansas City are just too quick to reach for guns,” she said.
This story was originally published June 25, 2023 at 8:43 PM.
