On the evening of May 16, 2022, a daylight shooting at or near the intersection of 5th Street and Connor Avenue in Joplin, Missouri, left 46-year-old Kenneth Jay Mathews dead. Police were dispatched after a 911 call reporting gunshots at about 6:06 p.m.; officers were told two people had been struck and that the shooter or shooters had fled in a dark-colored passenger vehicle. Mathews was found with apparent gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. A second adult male was also shot and taken to a hospital in critical condition.

Mathews, known to friends and family as Jay and by the nickname 1 Big Chopz, was a Joplin resident and is survived by two sons, Kaleb Mayhew and Xavier Mathews, plus a large extended family. Detectives continued to investigate and sought public help after the shooting; no arrests were publicly reported in the immediate aftermath and the case remained active. If anyone has information about the shooting or the dark-colored vehicle seen fleeing the scene, please come forward.