19-year-old charged in shooting of juvenile in Kansas City

A Kansas City 19-year-old has been charged in connection with the shooting Monday afternoon of a juvenile in Northeast Kansas City, Jackson County prosecutors said Wednesday.

Leroy Walters is accused of a driving a taxi cab involved in the shooting in the 300 block of Cypress Avenue. He is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.

Police responding to the shooting found a juvenile suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. Witnesses told police that the victim was walking when he was attacked by another juvenile, who arrived in a yellow taxi.

The victim said he was walking with a group of friends, according to court records, when Walters pulled up in the cab and spoke to him. Another person in the car, a juvenile, told the victim to give him everything he had and hit the victim in the face with a handgun, causing the weapon to fire.

The shooter stepped back, pointed the gun at the victim and fired into the victim’s chest before getting back into the cab and leaving.

Prosecutors said Walters admitted to being the driver and said one of his passengers shot the victim.

Officers later found a handgun hidden under a poncho. They detained a juvenile suspect found running behind some nearby houses.

Ian Cummings, icummings@kcstar.com

This story was originally published August 26, 2015 at 6:15 PM with the headline "19-year-old charged in shooting of juvenile in Kansas City."