‘Good dude’ killed in Lee’s Summit shooting was UCM classmate. He didn’t deserve to die | Opinion
When someone we know dies unexpectedly, we often ask ourselves, why do bad things happen to good people? Craig L. Scott, 51, was one of those good-natured human beings whom something very, very bad happened to.
Craig — as I will refer to him in this column — was killed inside his Lee’s Summit home late last week. He died from a single gunshot wound to the head, the Jackson County medical examiner determined, according to court documents.
In the 1990s, Craig and I attended the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg around the same time. We shared some things in common: We were St. Louis natives who relocated to Kansas City after college and settled here to raise our families.
Over the years, I found Craig to be a friendly, kind-spirited man with a big heart — an all-around good dude, as a mutual friend described him. He’s owned several businesses, including a food truck that specialized in funnel cakes that he operated with his ex-wife. In the past, the former couple owned a brick-and-mortar business that sold the cakes and other treats at the Shops on Blue Parkway strip mall in Kansas City.
I am heartsick for Craig and his family, especially his three sons — Craig II, Zachary and Joshua. Craig was a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. I offer my sincere condolences to his fellow Kappa brothers, many of whom I know well. The Black Alumni Association at Central Missouri is a tight-knit bunch. We just celebrated our biannual Homecoming fundraising event there in October. As a group, it’s safe to say we are reeling from what can only be described as yet another senseless tragedy.
Last moments of Craig’s life
According to a probable cause statement filed in the case, before Craig was fatally shot, he was beaten with the extended magazine of a semiautomatic weapon and struck with a pair of brass knuckles. Any of us who knew Craig would agree he didn’t deserve to die the way he did.
On Saturday, Jackson County prosecutors charged 31-year-old Keith Marshall of Kansas City with second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, burglary and unlawful use of a weapon in connection with Craig’s death. Some of the allegations against Marshall contained in a probable cause statement leads me to believe Craig died in a violent and senseless act.
A weekslong custody dispute between Craig’s fiance and Marshall, the father of the woman’s two children, led to this fateful encounter at the home Craig shared with his fiance, according to the probable cause statement. Marshall and another unknown man allegedly “bummed rushed” Craig outside the residence and when my college buddy retreated into the home, the men forced their way in and shots were fired, according to a witness statement contained in charging documents.
Gentle soul, entrepreneur, dedicated father
I want this to be a tribute to the way Craig lived and not how he was taken from us. LaTonia Collins Smith of St. Louis is a mutual friend. Smith is the president of Harris-Stowe State University in that city. She didn’t speak to me in her official role but as that of a long-time friend.
Smith and Craig attended high school and college together and remained friends throughout adulthood, she said. Like most of us who knew him, Smith said she is torn up over Craig’s death.
“Craig was my dog,” Smith said, using a term to describe a close friend. “We go back to freshman year in high school in 1987. This one hurts because I can’t think of a milestone event that he wasn’t present for in my adult life. It’s unreal.”
Smith said she would remember Craig as a gentle soul, entrepreneur and dedicated father. They last saw each other in St. Louis last month, Smith said. Craig drove from Kansas City to check on his old friend, she said.
“It was quick and brief,” Smith said. “He just wanted to check on me.”
That’s just the kind of guy he was.
Smith described Craig as a caring, selfless person.
“He had a way of making sure everyone felt important,” she said. “He made it a point to make everyone know he was their friend. He was very driven to be successful. He was not afraid to jump out there and take a chance. He wasn’t selfish with it. He wanted to help others become entrepreneurs. It’s difficult to raise Black men in America. I was so happy to see him as a father and take time with his boys. He was an all-around good dude.”
Days after Craig’s death, many of those who knew him were still trying to process how he died. But this much is true: This kind soul didn’t deserve to have his life cut short in such a cruel manner.
This story was originally published November 25, 2024 at 12:08 PM.
