One man was killed after gunfire erupts during argument in Kansas City neighborhood

A man has died after he was shot during an argument Sunday evening in Kansas City and the person responsible for the killing remains at large, a police spokesman said.

Although police are looking for a “person of interest” in the shooting, that person does not appear to be an immediate threat to the public at this time, said Capt.Corey Carlisle, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department.

Officers responded to the shooting shortly before 5 p.m. in the 2000 block of Oakley Avenue where they found a man lying in the front yard of a home suffering from gunshot wounds, Carlisle said. Emergency medical personnel arrived and pronounced the man dead.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the man was in a disagreement or argument with another person and that person shot him and fled from the area, Carlisle said. The argument was between two adults.

A description of the “person of interest” was not being released.

“Detectives are still piling together evidence to make sure that they have an accurate description and even an identity of the suspect,” Carlisle said.

Detectives and crime scene investigators were collecting evidence and looking for additional witnesses who may have seen or heard something.

The killing is the 101st homicide in Kansas City this year, according to data tracked by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings. There were 74 killings by this time last year, which ended as the second-deadliest year on record with 171 killings.

In 2020, 182 lives were lost, the most homicides ever were recorded. The next year was the third-deadliest year, with 157 killings in 2021.

Anyone with information about the killing is asked to call the homicide detectives at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS. There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information provided to the TIPS Hotline that leads to an arrest in the case.

Conflict resolution is a very big piece of effective communication, Carlisle said. Talking through issues and reaching out to a parent, friend, mentor, pastor or counselor are steps that need to be used to resolve conflict.

“Resorting to violence is never the answer when we’re trying to effectively communicate with each other either through disagreement or through respective dialogue,” Carlisle said.