On September 7, 2021, Preston Spencer, a 34-year-old Black man, was killed in a shooting at the Enigma Club & Lounge in Wichita’s Old Town. Spencer, a well-known local bartender, bar manager at Twelve Restaurant & Bar and father of two, was at the club with coworkers, friends and family when a man who had been ejected earlier returned armed. The shooter fired multiple rounds through the club’s front door and windows. Spencer was hit in the torso while shielding his pregnant cousin; she and her unborn child were reported unharmed. Five women were also injured in the attack.

The community organized fundraisers to support Spencer’s wife and two young children and mourned his loss, remembering him as the light of the room and a consummate entertainer. Investigators identified 23-year-old Keshawn Maurice Dawson as the suspect; he was located and arrested in October 2021 and extradited to Kansas to face charges.