By Paul Thompson
Northeast News

A man was shot and killed on the morning of Tuesday, April 24 while working at a construction site at the intersection of 9th and Brooklyn.

Later that afternoon, the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department identified the victim as 23-year-old Johnathon Porter.

According to KCPD, the homicide occurred at approximately 8:30 a.m. Upon arrival, police located Porter within the construction area on the southeast corner of the intersection. He was quickly transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. Witnesses at the scene told authorities that the shooter was a male with a dark complexion, wearing a blue sweatshirt and grey sweatpants.

At the crime scene, KCPD Captain Stacey Graves said that police responded to a 9-1-1 call regarding a shooting at an active work site.

“I know that the workers here were rendering him aid when we came on scene,” Graves said. “Officers arrived as soon as the ambulance arrived, and they immediately started providing life-sustaining aid.”

Graves added that witnesses were still in the process of being interviewed by detectives.

The crime scene is only a block away from the Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center. KCPD Public Information Officer Darin Snapp told the Northeast News via email that if surveillance video exists and can assist in identifying or capturing the suspect, the department will release it to the public. At this point, the timeline for such a release remains unknown.

The victim was an employee with InfraSource, which was performing work at the intersection for Spire, a natural gas distribution company. Spire has released the following statement on social media:

“We are heartbroken today after an InfraSource employee performing work for Spire was shot at a Kansas City construction site,” the statement from Spire read. “He later died at the hospital. Until we know more, we are working with police and InfraSource to pull crews off the streets in the Kansas City area. We ask that you hold this man, his family, his friends, InfraSource and utility workers, and our communities in your thoughts and prayers.”

KCPD urges anyone with information to call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-8477.