Kansas City police take ‘person of interest’ into custody in death of 28-year-old

A “person of interest” is now in custody in the death of a 28-year-old man, Deangelo Davis, who was found dead in the street early Monday in downtown Kansas City.

Kansas City Police on Monday evening said that detectives will be working with prosecutors to present a case so that they can make a determination of applicable charges. If the person of interest is charged, the name will become public at that time.

Davis was found dead at the intersection of 12th and Locust streets at 12:30 a.m. A passerby called police when he saw a man lying on the street unresponsive. Emergency responders declared him dead of a gunshot wound at the scene. Police identified him later in the day.

Early investigation suggested that Davis had been in a verbal altercation before he was shot.

His killing marks the 78th homicide this year in Kansas City, according to data maintained by The Star. There had been 102 homicides by the same time last year, which was the deadliest in the city’s history with 182 homicides.

Gun violence is the subject of a statewide journalism project The Star is undertaking in Missouri this year in partnership with the national service program Report for America and sponsored in part by Missouri Foundation for Health. As part of this project, The Star seeks the community’s help.

To contribute, visit Report for America online at reportforamerica.org.