KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Court documents unsealed last week provide new information in the hours leading to the Jan. 17 deadly shooting at The Hawk bar in Lawrence.
The incident at the Jayhawk Cafe, also known as The Hawk, resulted in the death of 18-year-old Aiden Sullivan Knowles and left 16-year-old Brady Clark injured.
In the days following the shooting, the Douglas County District Attorney's Office filed murder charges against Caiden Clem and Daitron Daniels-Strickland, both 18.
A Douglas County District Court judge on Friday, Jan. 23, unsealed the affidavit filed by Lawrence police in support of the charges.
According to the affidavit, when police began setting up the crime scene on Jan. 17, officers were approached by three males who claimed to have witnessed the shooting and were familiar with the victims.
The group of males — including the victims — arrived at The Hawk around 10 p.m. on Jan. 16. While they were there, the group met another group that included Daniels-Strickland and Clem. The witnesses reported there were no issues between the groups during the evening.
Two of the males left The Hawk to go to The Wheel, and were later denied reentry to The Hawk. Before leaving, they noticed a group of males and Daniels-Strickland arguing with bar staff about a cell phone and shots were fired shortly after, according to witness statements in the court document.
Video from the Jayhawk Cafe’s surveillance system showed Clem, Daniels-Strickland and two other males sneak into the bar from an unstaffed side entrance around 11 p.m. on Jan. 16.
Staff at the bar instructed Clem and his associates to leave around 1:45 a.m. on Jan. 17, which led to an altercation with staff. During the fight, Clem is shown on video pulling out a semi-automatic handgun, but it is pinned to his side by another male.
The group is eventually forced outside, and staff convinces Clem to leave. The court document says Clem then points his firearm at the left side of a bouncer’s head at the western exit doors, where Daniels-Strickland and his group are attempting to reenter.
Clem and Daniels-Strickland fired shots toward the bar around 1:49 a.m., according to video surveillance evidence.
In Clem’s statement to police, he denied having a firearm, firing any weapons, being involved in any issues at the bar or hearing any gunshots.
Daniels-Strickland said in his interview with police he claimed he saw an altercation between a group and bar staff at closing and then heard multiple gunshots, which led him to firing his firearm “because he was scared.” In his statement, he also claimed he did not aim at anyone and fired his weapon upward.
When police showed Daniels-Strickland a video of the incident and showed he fired directly at people near the door, he said he did not remember seeing subjects in front of him, according to court documents.
During Daniels-Strickland’s interview, he said maybe it was a “good thing he caught a body on his first adult charge.”
Two firearms, believed to be related to the incident, were located by officers while searching the area the morning of the shooting. A tan colored semi-automatic handgun was found near Gertrude Sellards Peasron’s residence hall and a black Glock handgun was found under a vehicle inside a parking garage at 1136 Louisiana St., according to court documents.
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