KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One man is accused of murder after an argument led to a shooting Sunday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri.
Isaac Knighten, 40, of Kansas City, Missouri, is charged in Jackson County Court with second degree murder, 2 counts of armed criminal action, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful possession of a firearm, according court documents.
Officers responded just before 3 p.m. to a gas station at East 85th Street and Woodland Avenue for a disturbance with a person armed with a gun.
Before the sounds of gunshots, Bruce Burton heard a group screaming at one of the gas pumps.
"They were trying to force a lady into an SUV and she kept saying, ‘No, I'm not getting in the car,’" Burton told 41 Action News. "The three men, they was loud."
Burton, who was across the street, saw people running then counted six rounds as he hid from the gunfire.
Knighten and the victim, Jayvon McCray, 28, got into an argument that ended in gunfire.
Knighten shot at McCray and he stood behind two other men.
He also shot McCray again after McCray fell to the ground, according to a court document.
Police said EMS declared McCray dead at the scene.
Several children in Knighten's SUV ran from the gas station, but a small child and a woman were back in the SUV, court documents state.
"The SUV took off headed east on 85th street headed toward [Highway] 71," Burton said.
Several other people saw the same thing and told police.
Officers pulled over Knighten's vehicle a few blocks away
KCPD also responded to an overnight homicideat East 40th Street and Jackson Avenue and on Saturday to the 3500 block of Independence Avenue to investigate a separate homicide.
Detectives currently working homicide cases now have the federal resources of Operation LeGend at their disposal.
"They're here to combat violent crime, everything I've seen," Becchina said. "And so whatever resources they can bring to help these detectives bring justice for those victims families, my understanding is that's what they're going to be doing."
The highest number of recorded homicides in Kansas City history was back in 1993 at 153. At the time, gangs were at war. Fast forward to today and police have said the predominate cause of homicides are drug transactions and disagreements like the one that happened Sunday afternoon.
"It's not good conflict resolution," Becchina said. "That's not the way to solve disagreements in the parking lot of a gas station."
Anyone with information about the shooting can contact the KCPD Homicide Unit at 816-234-5043 or make an anonymous tip through the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
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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.
