Alvino Dwight Crawford Jr., a 29-year-old Black man from Kansas City, Missouri, was killed in the early morning hours of July 5, 2016. Around 2:30 a.m., officers found Crawford sprawled near the intersection of 83rd Terrace and Campbell Street with fatal gunshot wounds; he died before paramedics could transport him to a hospital. Witnesses later said fireworks from Independence Day had masked the gunfire, delaying awareness that a shooting had occurred.

Court records describe a violent altercation near an apartment complex on Forest Avenue. Jerome B. Walker Jr., 41 at the time, reportedly struck Crawford with a baseball bat and told a group to leave. As Crawford stumbled away, 16-year-old Devon Davis fired the fatal shots. Both men were charged as adults, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, and each received 10-year prison sentences. Walker also faced armed criminal action charges.

Crawford’s parents pursued civil litigation that traced the murder weapon into a gun-trafficking network. The lawsuit named James Samuels, manufacturer Jimenez Arms, and dealer Green Tip Arms; in November 2020 a court awarded the parents $4 million against Samuels, and the dealer agreed to dissolve and surrender its federal firearms license while the manufacturer filed for bankruptcy.

Did anyone in the area on the night of July 5, 2016, notice anything that could help fill gaps about what happened near the Forest Avenue complex?