Suspects sought in KC ‘rolling gun battle’ where stray bullet paralyzed 11-year-old
Kansas City police were asking for help Monday to track down two vehicles believed to be involved in a shooting that left an 11-year-old girl paralyzed by a stray bullet that entered her Marlborough Heights neighborhood home earlier this month.
Police released photographs Monday in an attempt to identify two vehicles that were suspected of carrying out a “rolling gun battle” on Nov. 1 near 80th Street and Hickman Mills Drive. One appears to be a light-colored sedan and the other a dark-colored minivan or SUV.
In a statement on social media, police said surveillance footage was being collected between Hickman Mills and Prospect Avenue from 80th to 82nd streets. They asked anyone in the area who has home surveillance cameras to pass along videos to detectives.
The vehicles were in that area between 9:30 p.m. and 9:40 p.m. on Nov. 1, according to police.
Family of the child, Lauren Reddick, told The Star last week that the 11-year-old was preparing for bed when the sound of gunfire echoed through the house. As cars sped away on the block, the girl’s mother heard a wailing cry and found her shot on her bedroom floor.
Doctors have told the family Lauren may never walk again because of a bullet that struck her spine, the girl’s grandmother, Stancy Reddick, said during an interview. The shooting, which happened roughly one week after Lauren’s 11th birthday, has shaken the Reddicks.
“I’m being strong for my daughter and my granddaughter, and my strength comes from God. That’s who I draw my strength from, and also family,” Stancy Reddick said, adding:
“We have to do something because Lauren is not the first child that has to deal with this. It’s far too common that children are getting caught into this, (violence) and Lauren doesn’t deserve what has happened to her.”
Kansas City police were asking anyone with information about the shooting, including the vehicles sought by police, to contact the department’s Assault Squad at 816-889-1683 or call the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS.
A GoFundMe webpage has been set up to collect donations for the Reddick family in the wake of the shooting.
The Star’s Samantha Latson contributed to this report.
