‘Gave you anything’: Daughter says father shot and killed in KC was committed to family
Laneasa Burns screamed and cried when she learned her father had been fatally shot early one August day in Kansas City.
She couldn’t bring herself to go to the scene in the 2900 block of Prospect Avenue, where police said they found Joseph Burns III lying in the fetal position around 5:30 a.m. Aug. 30 in the front yard of a vacant apartment building.
Burns appeared to have been shot multiple times and didn’t have a pulse when officers arrived, said Alayna Gonzalez, a spokeswoman with the Kansas City Police Department. Emergency medical crews pronounced him dead at the scene.
Investigators believed an argument may have led to the shooting, but no persons of interest have been taken into custody.
‘He was sweet’
Joseph Burns went to prison before his daughter was born and was released when she was 15. He had previously pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges, according to court records.
Growing up, she visited him most weekends in prison and always got gifts from him on Christmas and her birthday.
For years after his release, Burns worked at True Faith Outreach Ministries, the church his family owns, cleaning the facility and handing out supplies at food pantries and other events. Burns loved to entertain people, greeting everyone and cracking jokes at church services and events to help the homeless community, his daughter said.
Working at the church helped Joseph Burns feel like he was honoring his great-grandmother, his daughter said. The community that surrounds True Faith Outreach is where he grew up and saw familiar faces.
He taught his daughter to drive and helped her buy a house. He took in other kids as his own, including Laneasa Burns’ half sister and the daughter of a woman who used to take Laneasa to visit her father in prison. They all grew up calling him Dad.
When Laneasa Burns’ kids were born, her father was in the delivery room. He saw his daughter and grandchildren almost every other day. Laneasa says that’s likely because he wanted to make up for the time he missed while she was growing up.
“I’m not sure exactly what it was in his past,” she said, “but the man I knew being my dad was, he was sweet, never violent.”
On Saturday, her kids, ages 7 and 4, learned about his passing.
Her 7-year-old daughter was sad, but didn’t cry. She simply asked where her grandfather had gone; the man who dressed as Santa Claus every Christmas, and spoiled his grandkids with toys. His daughter said he’d been planning to buy all his grandchildren roller skates, and teach them how to skate.
‘Gave you anything he had’
Four years ago, Joseph Burns’ mother, whom he had cared for since he was released from prison, died. It sent Burns into a depression, according to his daughter.
He started using drugs, and in the last year, Laneasa Burns said his addiction issues had worsened.
Some nights, he didn’t return home. Instead, he spent his time with a group of people at an abandoned apartment building at 29th and Prospect.
More than a week before he was killed, Laneasa Burns said her father was shot in the leg after arguing with someone in the same location. He was released from the hospital after about a week.
On Wednesday, people in the area told Laneasa Burns and her family that her father was arguing with someone outside the apartment building door, when they heard someone shoot him four times.
Joseph Burns walked toward the gate, likely trying to leave the area, when he was shot four more times, witnesses told his family.
Laneasa Burns doesn’t know what either of the arguments were about, or if the same person shot her father in both incidents.
Even when he was using drugs, Laneasa Burns said her father was never violent or mean. While he was dealing with substance use issues, he still showed up to spend time with his family members and crack jokes.
“He was the type of person that literally gave you anything he had,” she said, “... and that was on his struggle days and his good days.”
‘Complete the closure’
Laneasa Burns said her family hopes someone comes forward, and the person who killed her father is brought to justice.
The vacant building where he was killed should be closed and boarded up, Laneasa Burns said, because it has become known for fights and stabbings. Hours before her father was fatally shot, she was told another person there was shot and placed on life support at a hospital.
“That will complete the closure,” she said. “My daddy is in peace, so he can rest.”
Joseph Burns’ killing was the 132nd homicide in Kansas City this year, according to data tracked by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings.
Police ask anyone with information to call the homicide unit at 816-234-5043 or the anonymous TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477. A reward of up to $25,000 is available for information submitted to TIPS that leads to an arrest.
This story was originally published September 8, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
