A confrontation between occupants of two vehicles on April 12, 2024, in the 1800 block of Hardesty Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, ended with 38-year-old Pablo Rodriguez shot in the front passenger seat of a white Dodge Caravan. First responders found him unresponsive inside the vehicle and he died at a hospital on April 14, 2024.

Court documents and video footage describe a man later identified as 27-year-old Sye’e Thomas exiting a blue sedan, approaching a man who had just left the Caravan, and forcing that man down a set of steps at gunpoint. Rodriguez opened the Caravan’s door at that point and was struck by gunfire. An associate of Rodriguez, who said he had been held at gunpoint and that Thomas demanded money while trying to use him as a human shield, ran back to the Caravan, retrieved a firearm, and fired at Thomas as he fled in the blue sedan.

Sye’e Thomas of Knob Noster, Missouri, was identified as the suspect, arrested, and charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action. He is being held at the Jackson County Detention Center without bond. Anyone with information about the incident or who knew Rodriguez is asked to come forward.