KANSAS CITY, Mo. — During the last two days, there have been six shootings that killed three people.
Gun violence is making May a particularly bloody month.
Other cities have seen drops in violent crime during the pandemic, but the homicide rate continues to surge in Kansas City.
Someone shot and killed two men and seriously wounded a woman early Monday morning at a south Kansas City apartment complex.
It marked the fourth double homicide of the month.
Since mid-March when the stay-at-home orders started, the mayor says more than two dozen people have been killed in Kansas City homicides.
Only 18 have died from COVID-19.
Those who work to make urban core neighborhoods safer say the public health emergency hasn’t changed the way shooters lead their lives.
“They see no issues, they see no risk,” said Mark Porter of 100 Men of Blue Hills. “They are continuously going with life as is. To them it doesn’t have any meaning. Any consequences, so therefore, some of the people they know have not died from this. So with everybody feeling like if nobody has died, everything has got to be normal. They are back to their normal habits, they never did break those habits.”
There was another homicide Sunday in south Kansas City, near Bannister and Crestview.
And a rolling gun battle that ended near Loose Park Sunday left yet another victim wounded by gunfire.
Outside of Kansas City, there also was a homicide in Blue Summit, Missouri, and a police shooting in Cass County. In all, eight people suffered gunshot wounds just in the last two days.
Although Kansas City’s mayor has appointed a task force to recommend new strategies to stop violent crime, some also all calling for more community involvement.
Some believe only when neighbors care about each other do grassroots solutions change behavior.
