In the early morning hours of June 9, 2021, Christopher Lee Kuder, 42, was fatally shot on the 1400 block of East Atlantic Street in Springfield, Missouri. Officers were called around 2:00 a.m. after reports of gunfire; Kuder was found with a critical gunshot wound to the chest, taken to hospital, and pronounced dead shortly after arrival. Witnesses said a street argument involving several people escalated and ended when a suspect fired at Kuder. The victim, who used a cane and was reportedly unarmed, did not have a weapon.

Police located 22-year-old Mickal Johnson in the yard of a nearby residence. A witness identified Johnson as the shooter and he was arrested. Prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Court filings show Johnson asserted he acted in self-defense. The case was delayed at times and later concluded with a conviction.

Kuder was born in Tribune, Kansas, and had lived between Kansas and Missouri. He was a father who had worked in food service and as a truck driver after attending culinary school.