KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 60-year-old grandmother woke up to frantic knocking at her Linwood Avenue home Sunday morning.
When she opened the door, there were three small children with a shocking message.
"They mama was dead. They mama was dead. Their daddy had shot their momma (sic). That's what they told me," the neighbor, who asked not to be identified due to a fear of retaliation, said.
She immediately took in the children and called 911.
"How do you console a child like that?" the neighbor said. "When the man go tell (sic) them. ‘Go look at your dead mama.' Who does that?"
When KCPD officers police arrived, they found a woman a few doors down shot dead inside her home. Her name has not been released.
"One of them [the kids] said... the mama asked him to leave and he didn't, and that's what escalated," the neighbor said.
A few hours later, KCPD confirmed to 41 Action News the alleged gunman was behind bars. He has not yet been charged.
"It's just sad that this is what Kansas City has come to gun violence," the neighbor said. "Pick up a bible and put down the gun."
Just 24 hours prior to the shooting, faith leaders called for 21-day ceasefire.
"We cannot be responsible for people's actions, their behaviors, the choices and the decisions that they make," Rev. Cassandra Wainwright, president of the Concerned Clergy Coalition, said. "But what our prayer was, what our hope is, and still shall remain over these 21 days, that a seed will be sown that would allow people to know that there is a better way."
Despite the ongoing violence, they're bound not to give up
"This is our beloved community," Wainwright said. "And somehow, we believe through prayer, through a move of God that things have got to get better, and that our community will recognize and realize that we don't have to resolve or move toward violence."
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For jurisdictions that utilize the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline, anonymous tips can be made by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the 41 Action News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the 41 Action News Mug Shot Policy.
