Kansas teens face murder charges after shooting outside Lawrence bar near KU
Two teens are facing murder charges after a shooting that left one teen dead and seriously injured another at a popular Lawrence bar near the University of Kansas early Saturday.
The Douglas County District Attorney on Tuesday charged 18-year-old Dai’tron L. Daniels-Strickland of Shawnee with one count of second-degree murder, and two counts of attempted second-degree murder.
Eighteen-year-old Caiden Clem of Atchison, Kansas, faces charges of felony first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault.
Daniels-Strickland and Clem made their first appearance in Douglas County District Court via videoconference from the Douglas County Correctional Facility.
Aidan Knowles, 18, was killed, and his close friend Brady Clark, 16, was critically injured when they were caught in the shooting early Saturday..
Their families said the teens were “simply in the wrong place at the wrong time” and were innocent bystanders “caught in a senseless act of violence.”
The charges list other victims in addition to Knowles and Clark.
Police responded around 2 a.m. to a reported shooting at the Jayhawk Cafe, known locally as “The Hawk” at 1340 Ohio St. Arriving officers found Knowles and Clark suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, police said in a news release.
Paramedics responded to the area and pronounced Knowles dead at the scene. Clark was taken to a hospital with critical injuries.
Witnesses reported that the suspects fled after the shooting. Lawrence police began searching the surrounding area, using a police dog, a drone and assistance from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
Shortly after, officers found a group of people walking several blocks away, matching the description of the persons involved in the shootings, police said.
Police took Clem and Daniels-Strickland into custody and booked them into the Douglas County Correctional Facility, where they have been held on $1 million bonds each since early Saturday.
Court records show that Daniels-Strickland was previously charged in Johnson County juvenile court with allegedly bringing a loaded gun in a backpack to Olathe Northwest High School in February 2024.
He was sentenced to 18 months in a juvenile correctional facility after pleading guilty in April 2024 to felony criminal threat and three misdemeanors: juvenile in possession of a firearm, interference with a law enforcement officer, and possession of marijuana. He was released last August.
Meanwhile, court records show Clem pleaded no contest in September 2023 in juvenile court to a felony charge of burglary of a dwelling with intent to steal a firearm.
Clem was originally placed on probation but was sent to prison in April 2024 after violating probation. Kansas Department of Corrections records show he was released in November.
