One man is dead Friday morning after a shooting near Roberts Street and Askew Avenue. Neighbors heard gunshots just after 6:30 a.m. and called police.
Neighbors administered first aid until Kansas City Police Department officers (KCPD) arrived. Upon arrival, police were directed to a vehicle in front of a residence on Roberts Street. The adult male victim was lying in the street next to the car with the driver’s door open.
Police performed CPR until EMS arrived and took over. EMS declared the victim deceased at the scene.
KCPD Media Officer Jacob Becchina said callers heard gunshots and looked out their windows, seeing the victim lying unresponsive down the street.
Preliminary investigation indicates the shooting occurred at this location.
“Detectives are canvassing the surrounding area and looking for any evidence or anybody that may have seen or even heard anything to give them a little bit better description or a little bit better information this morning,” Becchina said. “They’re also working with Crime Scene Investigators to process all of the evidence, you can see that going on behind me here. There’ll be gathering all that evidence and then analyzing that with detectives. They’ll hopefully put all that together and and have some leads and some places to start for their investigation.”
Detectives are hopeful that there will be witnesses due to the time of day and the neighborhood.
“At 6:30 in the morning, most people — this is a residential neighborhood — most people are waking up, letting dogs out, getting ready to go to work or going to work,” Becchina said. “So we’re really hopeful that somebody did see or hear anything, you know, maybe just slightest little thing that may seem out of the ordinary could be a big deal to detectives.”
There is no suspect description at this time. It is too early in the investigation to tell if it was a drive-by shooting or whether the victim and suspect were known to each other.
If anyone saw or heard anything in this area or has any information they are asked to contact the Homicide Unit directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS. There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS hotline.
KCPD is working with Partners for Peace in all homicide investigations to monitor risks for retaliation and provide social services to affected residents. KC Mothers in Charge was also on the scene to assist family of the victim.
This is the 40th homicide in Kansas City, Mo. in 2023. It is the fourth homicide in Northeast Kansas City this month.
