KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Following another deadly weekend in Kansas City, Missouri, which claimed the lives of a local reporter and a man in the historic 18th and Vine District, Mayor Quinton Lucas emphasized trust between the community and police is key to curbing the ongoing violence in the city.
On Sunday, KCUR-FM, the National Public Radio affiliate in KCMO, announced the death of its reporter Aviva Okeson-Haberman.
Okeson-Haberman, 24, died after being shot while in her apartment on Friday, according to KCUR-FM.
"She is someone who should be with us at this press conference, and frequently covered them. And we miss her, we give our condolences to friends, her family," Lucas said at press conference on Monday.
Just hours after the announcement of Okeson-Haberman's death, a man Lucas identified as Gary Taylor died in the 18th and Vine District following a shooting that also injured three others. KCPD has yet to identify him as the victim in the shooting.
"Gary Taylor, a trainer, who was killed at 18th and Vine yesterday, leaves behind a lot of caring friends and family. My condolences to him," Lucas said.
Lucas outlined a number of efforts the city has taken to reduce the violence in Kansas City.
Among those include theWork For Youth initiative, which provides youth in KCMO with "career exploration, job training, and internship experience and a plan for post secondary attainment," according to its website.
Lucas said he plans to continue pushing for more efforts such as conflict resolution, economic development and other ways to slow the violence.
"I'll continue to say though, another 'what can be done?' is we need to make sure that we have folks that are comfortable in talking to law enforcement after these incidents," Lucas said. "There continues to be a police and community trust issue."
Damon Daniel, president of the Ad Hoc Group Against Crime, said many people feel there's a lack of security in going to police with information. He said too often, his organization hears from people who did so but never saw the results they feel they deserve.
"We know that this is a very violent city and there's a lot going on, but when people are participating and they're cooperating and giving their information they need to feel as though something is going to happen," Daniel said.
Just last week, social justice activists continued to call for KCPD Chief Rick Smith to resign among other demands.
Daniel said common sense can and should play a role in simple solutions to violent crime.
"Walking away, trying to find it in your heart to forgive, I mean these sound like simple things but when we think about it, I mean the consequences are much larger and the impact of violence is much greater," Daniel said.
The death's of Okeson-Haberman and Taylor marked the 46th and 48th homicides in KCMO in 2021.
The weekend of violence also marked one of several violent weekends in 2021.
