Father of slain WyCo deputy honors son: ‘The pain of this loss is unbearable’
Two days after Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Deputy Elijah Ming was killed while responding to a call, his father posted on social media about the loss his family is feeling.
Mark Ming shared that many people have reached out to him about how their “lives were uplifted from things Eli said to them or just because he believed in them and saw them for who they could be without judging them.”
“The words to express my pain, disappointment, anger, sadness and absolute disbelief, will never come to me,” Mark Ming wrote. “My son, Elijah La’Mose ( Elijah Ming ) is, was and will always be, the definition of a ‘Good Dude.’ Always respectful, humble and helpful, the kind of young man any parent would be proud of and WE DEFINITELY ARE!
“The pain of this loss is unbearable because I know his worth.”
A contact for relatives said Monday that no one in Elijah Ming’s immediate family wished to speak at this time.
Ming was one of several law enforcement officers who responded to the 2600 block of S. 30th Street Saturday afternoon, according to information provided by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the department handling the case.
“Just before 3:30 p.m., a female subject called requesting that police accompany her as she moved out of a residence, due to concerns about her safety,” a KBI release said. “She reported that when friends tried to assist her, a male subject threatened them with a firearm.”
At around 3:45 p.m., Ming and an officer with the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department arrived at the residence at 2627 S. 30th St.
Grace Jacobs, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, said Monday that civil matters are handled by the sheriff’s department, which is why Ming responded along with KCK police.
As Ming and the KCK officer approached the front door, “a male subject inside the house fired multiple rounds at the officers,” the release said. Rounds struck Ming and he was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. The KCKPD officer was uninjured.
Authorities later identified the shooting suspect as Shawn Harris, 38, of Kansas City, Kansas. As first responders tried to help Ming, officers from both KCKPD and the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office exchanged gunfire with Harris.
He barricaded himself inside the home and officials said he eventually came out around 5 p.m. after a negotiation. He was injured by gunfire and taken to a local hospital.
‘Rest in Peace’
Many gathered outside the Wyandotte County Courthouse Sunday evening for a vigil honoring Ming, who had been a deputy for the past nine years.
The loss of the deputy, who was known to many as kind and caring, has hit the community hard, said LaDora Lattimore, with Friends of Yates, a comprehensive community agency in Wyandotte County that helps survivors of domestic violence. His death comes at a time when Friends of Yates and shelters in the Kansas City area are seeing a rise in needs and calls regarding domestic violence.
Deputies like Ming are an asset to the community, Lattimore said.
“My phone was just off the hook about, ‘What are we going to do about this?’” Lattimore said. “It’s devastating to lose anybody that you’re close to.
“But it’s even more painful when a person has given so much of themself, choosing to unselfishly, to family, community and human kind. Period.”
In the hours since his death, friends and family and residents in the community he served have remembered the deputy, saying he was known to stop and play with kids while on duty.
One video showed him, in uniform, racing a young boy. Another showed him playing basketball.
The City of Fort Scott, Kansas, posted on social media that Ming attended college there and was known as a “wonderful young man” and did “many great things while he was a member of our community.”
His alma mater also praised Ming, who played baseball for the school.
“Fort Scott Community College had the honor of watching you go from a young, baseball playing, Homecoming King to a wonderful example of integrity and a protector of the community,” the school’s Facebook post said. “Rest in Peace, Officer Elijah Ming.”
‘Our miracle baby’
Mark Ming described on social media what the loss of his son will mean to the family. Elijah’s death came just 11 days after his mother, Sonji Ming, died, according to relatives.
“I’m devastated because his son has lost the perfect father,” Mark Ming wrote on Facebook Monday morning. “His wife is without her Best Friend, his brothers and sisters are without their most level headed sibling.”
Elijah came into the world in February 1991. Mark Ming wrote that his son was born three months premature, “weighing only 1 lb 9 oz.”
“The hospital staff referred to him as our miracle baby,” Ming posted. “I loved him then with tubes and monitors connected to him.”
Ming included a picture from more than three decades ago of him holding his tiny newborn son.
“And after they gave me and my family this horrible news,” he said, referring to Saturday’s shooting, “I saw him once again with tubes and monitors attached at 6’3 200lbs.
“But still my baby boy. I love you son take care of your brother and your mom she needed you more than me.”
The Star’s Noelle Alviz-Gransee contributed to this report.
This story was originally published July 29, 2025 at 2:37 PM.
