A long-running dispute between neighbors in Kansas City, Missouri, ended in gunfire on August 7, 2022, when 41-year-old Warner Trotter Jr. was shot on the front porch of his home on the 3500 block of Garfield Avenue. Neighbors had argued for about ten years over lawn care, and police had been called twice that day about the suspect mowing his lawn early. The confrontation escalated after Trotter returned home with a female companion and exchanged words with his neighbor, 42-year-old Samuel Avery.

A witness heard Trotter ask Avery something like Do you have something to say? before several shots were fired. Trotter was found on his porch with a gunshot wound, taken to a hospital, and pronounced dead. A witness said Trotter was armed but that the weapon was concealed and not brandished; security footage reportedly showed Trotter speaking to Avery, turning to enter his house, and then being shot while not reaching for his weapon. Avery called dispatch after the shooting, admitted he had shot his neighbor, and was taken into custody. He was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action; prosecutors sought a $200,000 cash bond.

Does anyone have information about the long-standing dispute or the days leading up to the shooting?