KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s been more than 24 hours since Kansas City, Missouri, police responded to a shooting call at 79th Terrace and Campbell Street.
Neighbors recall gunshots breaking the calm of a Sunday afternoon, and for one woman, she’s still thinking about it.
"His mother was the last thing I thought of when I went to sleep, the first thing I thought of this morning, he was the first image in my mind," Heather Brewster said.
She saw a single shoe in her yard, and a young man, Rahsan Stenson, face down at the bottom of her driveway. A mother's instinct kicked in.
"After that I approached him, and kneeled down next to him and was just loving him," Brewster said.
She tried to save a life she did not know, until his own loved ones arrived at her driveway.
"No parent should ever have to endure that," Brewster said. "Without question, that young man was loved beyond belief by everyone."
In the moment, she wasn't thinking about her own four children, but of Stenson.
"I was thinking about the young boy, honestly I just couldn’t imagine that level of pain," Brewster said.
Even in the chaos, she continued to offer help and empathy.
"I wanted desperately to go, I kept asking where the mom was and I desperately wanted to be able to hug her," Brewster said. "I don’t know, I’m going to love her forever."
The crime scene tape is down, the flashing lights are gone, but the grief remains.
"I don’t ever want to see another mom have to scream and beg to be able to hold on to her son again," Brewster said.
KCMO has recorded 18 homicide victims under the age of 24 in 2022.
On Monday, police said there wasn't any immediate information on a suspect and was asking for the community's help.
Anyone with information in Stenson's case is asked to contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline.
Anonymous tips can be made by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477).
—
