Police ID teen killed in KC mass shooting that injured 5; national group to honor
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Teen Santino Gonzalez, 17, killed; five others injured in Kansas City gathering.
- Youth Peace & Justice Foundation to plant tree, offer up to $5,000 reward.
- Police investigating; public urged to call TIPS Hotline or homicide detectives.
A teen killed in a mass shooting that injured five others in Kansas City over the weekend will be honored by the national Trees for Peace memorial initiative, according to a news release from the organization.
Police on Sunday identified the victim killed in the shooting as Santino Gonzalez, who had just turned 17 at the end of January.
The Youth Peace & Justice Foundation, formerly the Uvalde Foundation for Kids, said it will memorialize Santino by planting a tree in the Mark Twain National Forest as a tribute to his life and a symbol of the urgent need to address youth gun violence nationwide.
The organization, formed after the May 2022 mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, will also offer a reward of up to $5,000 through its Crimes Against Students initiative for information leading to an arrest and conviction in Santino’s killing.
“Seventeen years old is far too young,” Daniel Chapin, founder of the Youth Peace & Justice Foundation, said in the news release. “Every time gunfire erupts at gatherings meant for connection and friendship, entire communities are shaken. Santino’s life mattered, and his memory deserves to stand in a place of peace.”
Police responded to the shooting around 10:15 p.m. Saturday at a home in the 4900 block of College Avenue in Kansas City’s North Town Fork Creek neighborhood.
There, they found Santino suffering from a gunshot wound. He was unresponsive, and officers began rendering life-saving measures until emergency medical workers arrived, according to Officer Alayna Gonzalez with the Kansas City Police Department. An ambulance took Santino to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Officers also found three other victims at the home: a woman and two teens, who also had been shot. Meanwhile, another woman and a teen showed up at hospitals after being driven there, Gonzalez said.
A preliminary investigation revealed that a gathering was underway at the home when an altercation broke out inside. Shots were then fired, striking two women, two teenage boys and two teenage girls.
Police have not identified a person of interest in the shooting and no one was in custody as of Monday.
Detectives were pursuing all leads as they come in, Sgt. Phil DiMartino with the Kansas City Police Department said Monday. Detectives have received several tips, but encourage anyone who might have seen or heard something to come forward.
Anyone with information about the homicide can call the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS (8477). Tips submitted anonymously to the hotline may be eligible for a reward of up to $25,000.
Tipsters may also call homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043.
The killing marks Kansas City’s 19th homicide of the year, according to data tracked by The Star. That compares to 22 homicides at this time last year.
