INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- A local family is mourning the loss of a young man shot and killed right before the new year. They say what happened should be a reminder to other young people to make the right choices.
Steven Ragsdale, 20, was shot and killed outside of his apartment in the 300 block of N. Leslie Ave. on Dec. 30, 2017.
"The thing about him being so young and being killed has really affected the way I feel about not being able to talk to him,” said Alex Anderson, Ragsdale’s uncle.
Anderson wonders if his nephew would still be here today if he had made different choices.
"There was just a lot of things that Steven was doing that was putting him on the wrong path,” said Anderson.
Months before Ragsdale’s death, Ragsdale survived another shooting which his uncle says pushed him to make better choices.
"After that first time he got shot four times, he was straightening himself out. Trying to get back to school, trying to get himself together, he had a job somewhere from what I understand,” said Anderson.
The night a gunman killed Ragsdale, he was living with his girlfriend. Ragsdale’s uncle says she was involved in a drug deal gone wrong.
"He got to Steven and he shot and killed Steven,” said Anderson.
Ragsdale’s death is a sad reminder of the rise in gun violence across the country.
In 2017 there were 15,549 deaths involving guns, up from 13,512 deaths involving guns in 2015.
Independence police arrested the man they believe was Ragsdale’s shooter, but Anderson doesn't want his nephew’s death to be in vain, saying other young people should learn from this tragedy.
"Hopefully we can get a message out to kids, young kids, that you can die. Bullets kill. Stupid activities kill. If you can't get your life straight, seek help to get your life straight,” said Anderson.
According to the Center for Disease Control, homicide by firearm was the second leading cause of violence-related deaths for people ages 15-24 in 2015.
