Shortly after 11:30 p.m. on September 3, 2024, officers in Kansas City, Missouri, responded to reports of gunfire near 55th Street and Prospect Avenue and found 39-year-old Shroy Virgil Lapsely and a woman lying in the street with gunshot wounds. Both were taken to Research Medical Center; Lapsely was pronounced dead about 1 a.m. on September 4, and the woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was expected to survive.

Police identified 48-year-old Otis Wayne Brown as a suspect after the surviving woman, who knew Brown, told investigators he was the shooter. Court papers say officers had earlier asked Lapsely and the woman to leave a nearby gas station for loitering; after they did, Brown allegedly approached on foot and fired three shots.

Brown reportedly declined to give a DNA sample and was disruptive during questioning. He has a prior unlawful use of a weapon conviction from 2022 and, separate from these pending charges, is serving an 18-year sentence for unlawful possession of a firearm and filed an appeal one day after starting that sentence. Lapsely’s mother has said the family wants to speak with the surviving woman to learn more about what happened. If anyone has information about the shooting near 55th Street and South Benton Avenue that night, please share it with investigators.