Fifteen-year-old Jaiair Strong was shot and killed on the morning of Monday, February 15, 2016, in east Kansas City near U.S. 40 and Willow Road. A student at Raytown High School and a dedicated basketball player aiming for Division I, Jaiair was picked up from his home by other young people and later suffered a fatal chest wound; he was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, listed as the city’s 16th homicide of 2016. His family described him as well-liked and smart, having played basketball since age five.

Court records and witness statements describe a planned robbery gone wrong. Jaiair and another 15-year-old, identified in records as Demarco J. Summers, went to an apartment on East 39th Terrace intending to take a handgun from a juvenile who had the weapon; they had told others they were going to buy marijuana. During a struggle over the gun the juvenile fired, killing Jaiair, while Summers reportedly fled in a stolen vehicle.

In the months after the shooting a 15-year-old suspect was charged with second-degree murder and tampering and was retained in family court rather than being tried as an adult.

Does anyone have information about Jaiair’s last movements, the people who picked him up that morning, or the events at the East 39th Terrace apartment?