KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ A man killed in a shootout at a fast food restaurant, a woman hit by a stray bullet at an arts festival, a man left lying in the street and another found dead in a car _ all were victims of a violent four days in Kansas City.
Four people were killed in as many days in Kansas City, as homicides continued on pace to top the number recorded last year in the city.
The city has seen 85 killings so far this year, compared with 78 by this time in 2018, which ended with 143, according to data kept by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings.
Newly-minted Mayor Quinton Lucas, as he stood before a packed crowd at Union Station Saturday, acknowledged the city's recent spate of violence during his inaugural toast.
He said he and the City Council had a lot of work to do in the next four years, and vowed to "never forget any part of our community."
The most recent killing came about 6 p.m. Saturday near East 55th Street and Agnes Avenue, where gunfire left 26-year-old John A. Noel Jr. dead in a vehicle. He left behind a 4-year-old son, Noel's father said.
"I've just been numb," the father, John Noel, said Sunday.
Noel described his son as a charming man who always had a smile on his face. John A. Noel Jr. was named after his father, who was also named after his father.
Noel called his son his best friend. He said he didn't even know how to express his grief.
"Today is harder than yesterday," he said, "and I know tomorrow is going to be harder than today."
A woman who was shot in the same incident arrived at a hospital, police said. She was listed in critical condition, according to Capt. Tim Hernandez, a Kansas City Police Department spokesman.
Officers found several shell casings in the street at nearby East 55th Street and Prospect Avenue. Witnesses told police the woman got out of a vehicle found at the intersection when it was being shot at there. No suspect information has been released.
Hours earlier, Lucas stood with police officials to announce charges, including second-degree murder, against Deon'te Copkney, 18, in the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Erin Langhofer, of Overland Park.
Langhofer, a therapist at a domestic violence center, was killed while attending First Friday activities in the Crossroads Arts District.
Authorities described Langhofer as an innocent bystander.
"This needs to stop now," Lucas said. "Because the senseless violence in our city is something that affects all of us, each and every day."
Sunday, at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, services touched on the tragedy. Langhofer's father, Tom Langhofer, is a pastor of recovery ministries for the church and her uncle, Steve Langhofer, is pastor of caring ministries.
Steve Langhofer led the congregation in prayer, saying it was there to worship God in good times and bad.
He thanked God for blessing them with health, strength, loved ones, country and church, among other things.
"We worship you in bad times also," Langhofer said. "No matter how tragic, senseless, frightening, incomprehensible, heartbreaking, gut wrenching, stupid, unspeakably maddening, wasteful, hurtful, unreal, we know in our hearts, it cannot ultimately separate us from your love."
The congregation was also asked to pray for families grieving for the victims of recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that left a total of at least 29 people dead and more than 50 people injured.
"When we hear things like that, it seems unreal," the Rev. Wendy Lyons Chrostek said.
Mayor Lucas said he was as heartbroken to learn about Langhofer's killing as he was to read about the killing of 62-year-old Michael Pittman, who was found lying in the street Thursday near 32nd Street and Indiana Avenue.
One Kansas City resident, 74-year-old Everett Murphy, said homicides such as Pittman's should have received as much attention as the First Friday shooting of Langhofer, which brought public outcry and a news conference by top law enforcement and city officials.
"All deaths under these circumstances are tragic," Murphy said.
Before that killing, Aaron Mason, 23, died from injuries he sustained Wednesday night in a shooting that started during an argument at a Wendy's restaurant in Midtown and spilled outside.
In all, six people were killed in five incidents within a seven-day period in the city. That included the shooting deaths of Montae Robertson, 31, and Steven Parsons, 27, both of whom were killed July 28 in the 2100 block of Monroe Avenue.
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