Mortez C. Falkner was 32 when a birthday celebration in Kansas City’s 18th and Vine district turned deadly on September 8, 2021. Friends and family had been gathered near East 19th and Vine streets and Falkner posted from the scene shortly before a dark-colored vehicle pulled up beside the group. A person inside a black Cadillac sedan rolled down the driver’s side window and opened fire, striking Falkner. He was taken by a private vehicle to Truman Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Kansas City Police detectives used surveillance footage and forensic evidence in the investigation. Video showed the Cadillac leaving the scene; the same car was later reported stolen and was recovered abandoned near East 28th Street and Walrond Avenue about a week after the shooting. DNA recovered from the steering wheel and gear shifter and ballistic testing of shell casings found at the scene were cited as key evidence as the case developed.

Does anyone who was in that area on September 8, 2021, or who knew Mortez, have information that could help clarify what happened that night?