3 killed in separate homicides in under 3 hours Sunday in Kansas City
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Three separate shootings in Kansas City killed two teens and a man within three hours.
- Police said the three homicides appear unrelated and are under active investigation.
- The killings raised the city's total to 33rd, 34th and 35th homicides of 2026.
Two teens and a man died in shootings hours apart during a violent Sunday night in Kansas City, a police spokesman said.
The killings, which are being investigated as homicides, occurred within three hours of each other and do not appear to be connected, said Capt. Jake Becchina, a Kansas City Police Department spokesman.
Officers responded just before 6:30 p.m. to reports of gunshots being fired near East 110th Terrace and Greenwood Road in the Ruskin Hills neighborhood in south Kansas City, Becchina said.
While en route, officers were advised someone had been shot. Once officers arrived, people at the scene said that someone had driven a teenage boy who had been shot from the scene.
Moments later, officers were notified that the shooting victim had arrived at a nearby fire station and that emergency medical workers had treated him and were taking him to a hospital, Becchina said. At the hospital, the teen was pronounced dead.
Witnesses reported multiple people were in the area when gunfire was exchanged, and the victim was struck, Becchina said.
The victim was identified as Demetrius Smith, 17, Becchina said Monday morning.
About a half hour later, officers responded to the area of East 85th Terrace and Crystal Avenue to investigate reports of shots being fired.
Arriving officers began canvassing the area, looking for any signs that shots had been fired. A short time later, officers were notified that someone had driven a teenage boy who had been shot to a hospital. The victim was declared dead at the hospital.
Police found evidence that the teen had been shot in front of a home in the 7200 block of East 85th Street in the Oldham Farms neighborhood on Kansas City’s East Side.
A preliminary investigation found the victim was outside a home when one or more people fired shots, striking the victim, Becchina said. The victim was taken to a hospital in a private vehicle.
The victim was identified as Cavazion Williams, 15, Becchina said Monday morning.
Then, at about 9:15 p.m., officers responded to another report of shots being fired near East 97th Street and Holmes Road.
While en route, officers learned that a man had been shot and was lying in front of a home in the 9700 block of Holmes in the Linden Hills and Indian Heights neighborhood in south Kansas City.
There, officers found the unresponsive man and requested emergency medical services, who pronounced the victim dead at the scene, Becchina said.
A preliminary investigation found that the victim had an unspecified interaction with another person, which escalated into shots being fired, and the victim was struck by gunfire, Becchina said. The person who fired the shots fled before officers arrived.
The victim was identified as William J. Hunter, 29, Becchina said Monday morning.
“Although uncommon, multiple homicide scenes are not unprecedented, and there are contingencies in place for additional resources to be called upon to ensure thorough investigations and crime scene processing in such cases,” Becchina said. “Those contingencies were called into effect tonight (Sunday night) to ensure enough investigators were in place at all three scenes.”
All three killings are being investigated as homicides.
The killings are the city’s 33rd, 34th and 35th homicides of the year, according to data tracked by The Star. That compares to 45 homicides reported by this time last year.
Detectives urged anyone with information about the homicides to 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.
