KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Pendleton Heights neighborhood residents say they’re worried about youth violence after a double homicide Wednesday night in Maple Park in the city's historic Northeast neighborhood.
Kansas City, Missouri, police identified the two victims Thursday as Jimmy Bowman, 22, and Antonio Frazier, 15.
“I saw one lady that was just sobbing,” said Mary Chargois, a Pendleton Heights resident who lives across the street from Maple Park. “It was really difficult to see. And know that it’s a young person.”
Chargois says she’s been living in the neighborhood for seven years. When she first moved in, she said the gun violence seemed more frequent.
She says it’s still an issue, as evidenced by Wednesday’s murders.
“We hear gunfire almost every week,” Chargois said. “I wasn’t shocked at all. I was really, really sad, and especially to hear that they were really young.”
David Lee Mckenzie’s been living in the neighborhood for 60 years.
“I was a little kid, running there in the park in Cliff Drive,” Mckenzie said. “I love it down here, but it’s a new generation.”
The new generation is one that’s fearless, he says.
The two murders Wednesday happened while it was still light and in a neighborhood park.
“I feel like we’re really lucky that nobody else was hurt because there are small grade school kids that play in that park right by the soccer field where it happened,” Chargois said.
Police have not released information about a suspect or suspects in the case.
Mckenzie wants more help for teenagers who face violence nearly each day.
“It’s a new generation," he said. "They can run around with these guns. It’s younger people coming down here too, in this area, and they’re teenagers. And they do not respect their elders. You say anything to them, they’re ready to lash out, and if they had a gun, they probably would shoot you.”
It’s a reality Chargois lives with.
“Everybody carries a gun around here,” she said. “Everybody. And I walk by them every day, so it’s scary.”
Wednesday's murders were a reminder for her that no matter how common violence occurs, it's grief that lingers.
“Sometimes, I’ve thought about leaving because it’s really hard when you see the people and their grief and it touches your past grief,” Chargois said. “Hearing that cry of the mom or the sister, it’s really difficult.”
Chargois wants to see more police officers in her neighborhood.
Mckenzie shared advice for the young people he sees on the streets.
“They need to get some control of themselves and have some love in their heart. It wouldn’t be like it is,” Mckenzie said.
