Caller hears gunfire, looks out window, sees man fatally wounded outside Kansas City home
Update: Raymond R. Smith, 62, was identified as the victim of the shooting, police said Monday.
Police are investigating Kansas City’s latest homicide after a man was found lying on the ground outside a home in the Palestine West and Oak Park Northeast neighborhood Monday morning, a police spokesman said.
Someone called police about 11:15 a.m. saying they looked out a window after hearing gunfire and saw a man lying on the ground in front of a home in the 3800 block of Bales Avenue, said Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department.
Arriving officers were directed to the victim, who was unresponsive. Emergency medical workers took the victim to a hospital where he was soon declared dead, Becchina said.
The killing marks the 118th homicide in Kansas City so far in 2023, according to data tracked by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings. There were 93 killings by this time last year, which ended as the second-deadliest year on record with 171 killings.
In 2020, 182 lives were lost, the most homicides ever recorded.
Detectives and crime scene investigators collected evidence at the scene of Monday’s homicide and looked for possible witnesses. Detectives hope someone was in the area and heard or saw something.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Kansas City Police Department’s homicide unit at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS Hotline.
This story was originally published July 31, 2023 at 3:02 PM.
