KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Missouri, family still is searching for answers after their loved one was shot and killed while at home with his grandchildren.
"Still to this day, I ask God why did it happen to him," Rhonda Garcia said of her husband, Paul Garcia, who died last summer. "He was such a good person. He was innocent.
Paul had returned from a dialysis appointment and was visiting with family when he was shot by someone outside his home.
"Today they still talk about him," Rhonda said. "'I miss my Uncle Pappy.' That's what he was."
Flowers line the front of the Garcia home to represent a life taken too soon.
"There was no reason for my house to be hit at all," Rhonda said.
On June 22, 2020, Rhonda said gunmen were chasing someone down the street. The person they were after stopped in front of her house, and that's when the unknown suspects started shooting. One bullet hit her husband, who died at an area hospital at the age of 50 – an innocent victim caught in the crossfire.
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Witnesses told police they saw two to three men shooting into the house. Police said the men got into a car after the shooting and sped from the scene.
Eight months later, the suspects remain on the run.
"Sadly, this happens a lot where these bullets are striking homes with families and children inside," Sgt. Janice Heins, of the KCPD Homicide Unit, said. "We should all be on the same page in agreeing that is not acceptable."
Rhonda said if someone knows who was involved in the shooting, they should speak up.
"I can have justice. I will feel at ease. I will be able to sleep better," Rhonda said.
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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.
