Kansas City family must prepare funerals for brothers killed in separate shootings

A Kansas City family faces the emotional burden of laying to rest two brothers killed by gunfire just 10 days apart.

Someone shot 23-year-old DeMarco Knott on Sept. 25 outside a south Kansas City hotel.

On Monday, someone shot his 35-year-old half brother, Ronald Pruitt, inside a residence in the 8100 block of Blue Ridge Boulevard.

No arrests have been made in either shooting.

The two men had the same father.

“To lose one while trying to bury another one is unbearable,” said La-Nette Knott, the mother of DeMarco Knott. “We ain’t got one in the ground yet and then we lose another one.”

Officers responding to a shooting call found DeMarco Knott’s body at the Value Place hotel at 11301 Colorado Ave. Investigators have not said what led to the shooting.

Police dispatched on a disturbance call found Pruitt’s body. His relatives could not be reached for comment.

La-Nette Knott described her son as lovable and unselfish.

“If you were sad, he would make you happy,” she said. “He was a special child. There was nothing that he wouldn’t do for me.”

Knott worked for the family construction business and leaves behind a son and a daughter. He attended Ruskin High School but did not graduate. Knott loved working with his hands, especially repairing vehicles or items around the house, La-Nette Knott said.

His burial is set for Saturday in Independence.

Knott looked forward to spending time with relatives, especially his siblings. He frequently visited his mother and would ask what she had prepared for dinner.

“I will miss his hugs, his kisses — telling his momma that it was going to be OK,” La-Nette Knott said. “He was my baby. No matter what wrong he did, I always stood by his side, no matter what.”

This story was originally published October 6, 2015 at 6:56 PM with the headline "Kansas City family must prepare funerals for brothers killed in separate shootings."