3 killed in separate homicides in KC, including one shooting that killed 1, injured 5
Three people have died in separate homicides in less than 12 hours in Kansas City, including one where five others were injured in a shooting when a dispute erupted into gunfire at a large outside gathering.
Two of the victims were killed by gun violence, while the third victim was found dead of bodily trauma inside a home inside a Kansas City home. They are the 87th, 88th and 89th homicides of the year.
As the sun rose Monday, detectives and crime scene investigators remained at the shooting at the large gathering on Prospect Avenue, between East 70th Street and Gregory Boulevard.
Family members on the scene Monday morning confirmed the victim who died was 31-year-old Dyamund Shields Jr., owner of the Chicken Mac-N-Cheese food truck. Shields was serving food from his truck at the time of the shooting, according to a family member.
Dozens of orange cones marked the spots where police had found evidence on the ground. Prospect was closed in that area during the morning commute as police investigated the crime scene.
A preliminary investigation into that shooting showed that a dispute erupted and escalated into shots being fired between several persons who quickly fled the area, said Officer Alayna Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City police.
Officers who were patrolling in the area heard the gunfire, and one of the victims stopped them and said he had been shot. Officers called for an ambulance, which took the man to the hospital.
Officers also found another shooting victim, who was unresponsive, a short distance away. Gonzalez said he was taken to the hospital, where he died of his injuries.
Officers learned that several other victims, all adults, were taken to several hospitals suffering from gunshot wounds.
Shortly before noon Monday, Gonzalez said they were able to confirm that there were six gunshot victims total, including the one who died and five others who were injured. They remained hospitalized in stable condition. Detectives are still working to identify the individuals involved and no one was in custody.
Earlier, police were investigating the death of a man who was found dead inside a home Sunday night in the 3600 block of East 35th Street in the Palestine West and Oak Park Northeast neighborhood, Gonzalez said.
Officers responded just before 9:30 p.m. on a report of a dead body found inside a house. Arriving officers were directed to a home where a man was found just inside the front door. Gonzalez said he was not breathing.
Officers and emergency medical workers entered the house and saw the man had suffered from bodily trauma, Gonzalez said. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police later identified the victim as 59-year-old Anthony Handcock.
The circumstances surrounding the man’s death were unknown, and no one was in custody. Police said they were making headway in identifying a person of interest in the killing.
While police were still at the scene of the shooting at the large gathering, police received a report of shots being fired at 6 a.m. in the area of East 38th Street and Pittman Road in Kansas City’s Ashland Ridge neighborhood, said Capt. Jake Becchina with the Kansas City Police Department.
While officers were en route, they were told that someone had been shot behind a business in the 9800 block of East U.S. 40 highway, which is on the border of Independence and Kansas City. Independence police also responded to the area.
There, officers were directed into a wooded area behind the business, where they found an unresponsive man in a campsite that had a couple of tents, Becchina said. The man was identified Tuesday as Terrance Sherrils, 28.
An ambulance was requested, and when emergency medical workers arrived, they pronounced the man dead at the scene, Becchina said.
Several people at the scene provided information to police, and based upon that information, officers arrested a man for further investigation, Becchina said.
Detectives continued to investigate the shooting to determine the circumstances surrounding the killing. They were also waiting for crime scene investigators, who were still collecting evidence from an earlier shooting on Prospect Avenue, to arrive.
The killing is the third homicide in less than 12 hours, including the shooting that killed one person and injured several others shortly after 2 a.m. Monday during a large outside gathering on Prospect between 70th and Gregory Boulevard.
By this time in 2023, which was Kansas City’s deadliest year, there were 123 killings. Last year, the city ended the year with a total of 185 homicides.
Anyone with information about the killings is asked to call the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS (8744). Information submitted anonymously to the hotline can earn a reward of up to $25,000. Witnesses can also contact homicide detectives at 816-234-5043.
This story was originally published August 5, 2024 at 12:46 PM.
