KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Police released a picture on Monday of a person of interest possibly connected to the July death of an 18-year-old honor student in Kansas City.
Friends and family members of Antonio Jones continue to hope that the new lead can help bring justice in the case.
Jones graduated from Central Academy earlier this year and had plans to attend college to be an accountant.
“He graduated number five in his class,” said his sister, Teaonna McDaniel. “He was like, ‘I want to help kids. I want to make a difference and I want to show them that you can come from a certain place and still graduate.’”
McDaniel described Jones as a caring and easy-going teenager who always thought of his friends and family.
However, tragedy came this past July.
According to police, Jones was shot and killed during a shooting at a gas station on 59th and Swope Parkway.
After seeing news reports on the incident, McDaniel told 41 Action News that she made the heartbreaking discovery.
“I was really worried about him. He wasn’t answering the phone which wasn’t like him at all,” she said. “I finally got the courage to go up to the scene. It was my car. They said he didn't make it.”
Months later, McDaniel and her family still wait for answers on what happened.
On Monday, police released a picture of an 18-year-old person of interest in the case.
While McDaniel said she didn’t recognize the man, she hoped the picture could help lead to new information in the case.
“We’re missing our little brother. My grandma is missing her grandson,” she said. “I think that knowing what happened would bring a little more ease to our pain.”
The aftermath of the tragedy has stretched to the high school Jones attended.
At Central Academy, principal Anthony Madry told 41 Action News that the shooting still seemed tough to believe.
“Unfulfilled promise. That’s what Antonio’s death looks like to me,” he said. “It would be different if there was a silver lining that we can say, ‘Oh, we learned not to do this or that.’ What are we going to learn from his death?”
Police identified the person of interest as 18-year-old Ertayveon Frazier.
Anyone with possible information on the case is asked to call 816-474-TIPS.
People who share information can remain anonymous.
