Jeffery Williams

Jeffery Williams, known to some as "2 Jeff" or "Sr.," was a 39-year-old father of two and a proud ironworker with Local 83. He worked for TK Stanley, part of a trade that builds the bones of cities, a craft demanding strength and precision. But on a late winter night in his own Kansas City, Missouri, neighborhood, the life he had built was violently and abruptly ended. His death left a void in his family and among his union brothers and sisters.

The evening of Tuesday, March 6, 2018, began like any other, but it ended in a hail of gunfire. At around 9:30 p.m., Jeffery was on the front porch of his home near the corner of 80th Street and Wayne Avenue. Suddenly, a dark-colored car pulled up to the residence, and one or possibly two people inside opened fire. The assault was relentless; the house was struck an astonishing 38 times. In the midst of the chaos, a single bullet struck Jeffery in the neck.

When Kansas City police officers responded to calls for help, which came in around 11:05 p.m., they arrived to a scene of terror and tragedy. Jeffery Williams was found gravely wounded and was pronounced dead. The violence of the attack also struck a 14-year-old who was with him, wounding the youth in the leg. Thankfully, the teenager’s injuries were not life-threatening. The motive for the shocking ambush remains unknown.

The Kansas City Police Department immediately launched a homicide investigation into the drive-by shooting. Detectives canvassed the residential neighborhood, a community of single-family homes in the southern part of the city, searching for witnesses and evidence that could point to the assailants. The sheer number of shots fired into the home suggested a targeted attack, but who was responsible and why they unleashed such a fusillade on a family home remained unanswered questions.

In the years since Jeffery Williams was killed, his case has grown cold. No suspects have been publicly identified, and no arrests have been made, leaving his family without answers or justice. The investigation remains open but has yielded no significant breakthroughs that have been shared with the public. The year 2018 saw 138 homicides in Kansas City, a slight decrease from the previous year, but each number represented a story cut short, a family devastated, and a community searching for solutions to the violence. Jeffery’s death was one of many that left a lasting scar on the city.

The case of Jeffery Williams’s murder is now in the hands of those who may hold the missing piece of the puzzle. The Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers is actively seeking information from the public. A reward of up to $25,000 is available for any tip that leads to an arrest in the case. Authorities urge anyone with knowledge of the dark-colored car, the people inside it, or any detail from that night, no matter how small it may seem, to come forward. Information can be shared anonymously by calling the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).