James FreeMon Hill Jr, 29, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of April 3, 2023, inside the carryout section of Texas Tom’s near East 70th Street and Prospect Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. Officers arrived about 12:20 a.m. and found Hill unresponsive with fatal gunshot wounds; emergency personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.

Police say the shooting followed a verbal altercation between Hill and at least one other person in the carryout area. Multiple people were present in the restaurant and parking lot but most fled before officers arrived, leaving few immediate eyewitness accounts. The homicide was reported as the 41st in Kansas City that year.

Known to friends and family as Top Hat and J Mack, Hill was a father, worked at Quest Diagnostics and Ford Motor Company, performed in the local music scene, and had started his own brand. No arrests had been announced and the Kansas City Police Department’s Homicide Unit sought anyone with information; a reward of up to $25,000 was being offered.

If anyone was at Texas Tom’s that night or has information about the shooting, please contact investigators.