Police seek public’s help in identifying teenager killed in homicide Monday
Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying a teenager found shot and killed in a church parking lot Monday morning.
Officers were called around 9:30 a.m. after a passerby saw a body in the Dayspring Pentecostal Church parking lot at 9910 Bannister Road, according to Sgt. Phillip DiMartino, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department. The victim, who was declared dead at the scene, is a Black teen believed to be between 14 and 17 years old, police said.
“We don’t have a lot of info,” DiMartino said. “No one called in about a shooting. No one called in about a disturbance. Someone this morning just happened to be driving by.”
On Wednesday, police shared potentially identifying features of the victim in hopes someone in the community would recognize him.
The victim’s hair is about one inch long and is tapered at the sides, DiMartino said in a news release. There is a scar above his left eye, a vertical scar in the center of the back of the left hand and a circular scar on the left hip.
He has no tattoos or piercings, but has braces with black rubber bands. He was wearing bone colored Adidas Yeezy 700 MNVN, according to police.
The killing was the 72nd homicide in Kansas City this year, according to data tracked by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings. There had been 95 homicides at this time last year.
Anyone with information to call homicide detectives at 816-234-5043 or the anonymous TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477. A reward of up to $25,000 is available for information provided to TIPS that leads to an arrest.
