‘Our greatest drawback’: A conversation on gun violence in Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - This week will mark the one-month anniversary since the deadly mass shooting outside Union Station following the Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade and rally.

KCTV5 anchor Zac Summers sat down with Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas for a one-on-one interview to reflect on that day and discuss the ongoing gun violence in the city.

“It was this uniquely special moment in Kansas City, and it was taken away from us,” Lucas recalled.

It was Feb. 14 — Valentine’s Day in Kansas City. Kansas City was already riding a wave of success – from population growth, to being named a World Cup host city, to back-to-back Super Bowl champions. The city’s love story that day was one focused on celebrating the Chiefs’ fourth Super Bowl win, but the joy was instantly ripped away by gunfire.

“It was something that surprised all of us – and you would think in modern America, it shouldn’t,” Lucas said. “It shouldn’t.”

Twenty-five people were shot, including suspects Lyndell Mays, 23, and Dominic Miller, 18. Half of the victims were minors. Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a mother of two and popular radio disc jockey, was killed.

“I attended her visitation and funeral, and the outpouring of love and support was something I don’t think I’ve seen anything like in all my years in public office,” Lucas said.

Prosecutors alleged Mays and Miller, who are both charged with second-degree murder, started shooting following an argument over the way one looked at the other.

“You do need to get people to realize how do we resolve conflict,” said Lucas. “How do we walk away? How do you know it’s just not that deep?”

The city was grappling with gun violence before the rally shooting and continues to a month later. Mayor Lucas called it the city’s “greatest drawback.”

Of the record-breaking 182 homicides last year in Kansas City, nearly 40 percent happened over an argument or believed to have been a “contributing factor.” Crime data from the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) shows 24 percent of the suspects were between the ages of 18 to 24.

“I am never interested in necessarily taking away the rights of lawful gun owners, but we should all agree there are people who shouldn’t have them,” Lucas said. “I think after a prior gun charge, our oldest defendant [Mays], had not been able to possess firearms, there would still be a woman alive today and a whole bunch of people who weren’t shot.”

The crime data also shows that over the last decade, an overwhelming majority of shooting suspects and victims have been Black males.

“Are we doing enough as a community to reach our Black youth, before they become men, so they don’t turn to guns,” KCTV5 anchor Zac Summers asked.

ALSO READ: ‘I’m sorry’: Mayor Lucas speaks to ‘horrifying’ shooting near Union Station

“The obvious answer is we are not doing enough,” Lucas replied. “On of the greatest challenges we face when we talk about how to inspire Black youth and boys is we go this either or. People say either you invest in early childhood or you have to build a new giant jail. Either you are giving harsher penalties or you need to make sure they have some love in their home. It’s both. It’s both and.”

Mayor Lucas said part of the challenge is too many young people have easy access to weapons, and oftentimes adults are intervening too late.

“Cause it’s easy for me to say to an 11-year-old, ‘have some respect,’ but if your daddy got shot, a sibling got shot and all you know is that respect comes at the end of a barrel of gun, that’s how you’re going to emulate it from there on out,” he added.

Kansas City’s murder plight isn’t entirely unique. Washington, D.C. and Memphis, Tennessee also saw historic jumps last year.

Yet, cities like Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit and St. Louis recorded near-20 percent drops in homicides.

“What are we getting wrong in Kansas City?” Summers asked.

“It tells me that we need to do more,” Lucas replied. “Having interacted with the mayors of St. Louis and Baltimore – which by the way, per capita, is still more violent than our city is. They’re being creative.”

Kansas City leaders have already committed $30 million in funding to support local violence prevention programs over the next five years. The mayor is also proposing a 30 percent increase in starting pay for KCPD officers and he wants to crack down on gun offenses at the municipal level.

“We need to see more enforcement and prosecution in connection with those things we can,” Lucas said.

The 39-year-old mayor said the city and police can’t do it all. The community has to step up, too. He said we must all do our part to give all our neighbors hope.

“I hate to break this news to people, but there are a lot of people walking our streets, right now in Kansas City, who aren’t scared to go to jail, who aren’t scared to die,” Lucas said.

“We need to find some way to break through to them. Opportunity is one way; hope is another and getting them to know their life is worth more than just throwing away on some stupid fight on the streets.”

For more on how the city is working to combat crime and to find violence prevention resources, click here.

Watch the full, unedited, interview with Lucas in the clip below.

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