A 17-year-old boy died Sunday, hours after he was shot in east Kansas City.
Gunshots rang out just after 2 a.m. in the 3600 block of Michigan Avenue, Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman with the Kansas City Police Department, said in an email to media Sunday afternoon.
When police arrived, they found Ricky Monroe suffering from gunshot wounds in a vehicle in front of a home, Becchina said.
Monroe, who turned 17 in April, was taken to the hospital with injuries that were life-threatening. He died a few hours later, police said.
“Detectives believe a gathering of people was taking place at the residence the shooting took place in front of,” Becchina wrote. “They are confident multiple people witnessed what took place, but at this time the circumstances that led up to the shooting as well as suspect identification are not known.”
Police are asking anyone with information on the shooting to call KCPD’s homicide unit at 816-234-5043 or the anonymous TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
KCPD is working with Partners for Peace, a community resource for victims, in all homicide investigations to provide social services and monitor risk for retaliation.
Monroe was shot about three miles north of a shooting that happened a few hours later, at about 4:30 a.m. near 57th Street and Prospect Avenue. Police found two men and one woman fatally shot in a parking lot and the street just south of the intersection, Becchina said. At least five other people were wounded in the shooting but lived.
Sunday’s killings bring the total homicide count in Kansas City this year to 98, according to data tracked, which includes killings by police. This time last year, the city had suffered 73 homicides, the second deadliest year in recorded history.