Teen was exiting school bus in KCK when he was fatally shot, fundraiser says
The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department has identified a 17-year-old who was shot and killed in the city’s Victory Hills neighborhood Tuesday afternoon.
The department was called to an apartment complex in the 7400 block of Armstrong Avenue around 2:45 p.m. Feb. 10 on reports of a shooting, Nancy Chartrand, a media relations specialist for the department, said in a news release Tuesday.
There, detectives found Jai Barnes Jr., 17, suffering from gunshot wounds, Chartrand said. He was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Chartrand previously told The Star investigators believe the parties involved in the shooting knew each other.
In an updated news release Friday, Chartrand said the department does “not have any suspect information to release at this time.”
Barnes was exiting school bus when he was killed, family says
In a GoFundMe fundraiser posted Friday, Barnes’ family members said the teen, to whom they referred as “Baby Jai,” was exiting a school bus in front of his residence when he was shot.
“This unimaginable loss has left our family heartbroken,” the family wrote.
From the moment he was born, the family said, Barnes brought “so much joy to everyone around him.”
A son, brother, grandson and nephew, Barnes “had a smile that could light up any room,” and his presence brought happiness to family and friends, according to the GoFundMe.
The teen had to “figure out his own path,” the family said, after the death of his father when Barnes was 9.
Despite this, Barnes had a goal to graduate high school, wanting to “make his family proud,” the fundraiser said.
Donations to the GoFundMe will go toward Barnes’ funeral expenses and honoring the teen’s memory, the family said.
As of Friday evening, the fundraiser had raised $1,480 of its $3,000 goal.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the anonymous Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). Tips may qualify for a reward.
This story was originally published February 13, 2026 at 7:45 PM.
