Brian Baker

Brian Baker, a 48-year-old Black man described as a loving father of five, lost his life after an argument with a neighbor escalated to gunfire on a September evening in Wichita, Kansas. He was remembered as a wonderful father who stood up for what was right and was taken while protecting his children.

The fatal encounter occurred on September 12, 2025. At approximately 6:15 p.m., Wichita police officers were dispatched to the 900 block of South Vassar Avenue. They arrived to find Brian Baker lying in a front yard with multiple gunshot wounds to his torso. First responders transported him to a local hospital, but he was pronounced deceased less than an hour later, at 6:41 p.m.

According to multiple witnesses, the shooting stemmed from an argument and physical altercation between Baker and his neighbor. When police arrived at the scene, the neighbor, 38-year-old Allan Taylor Gunneson, came out of his house and surrendered to the officers. He was taken to City Hall for questioning and was subsequently arrested.

Gunneson was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail and later formally charged with voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. He was eventually released on unsupervised home incarceration. In an arraignment hearing in April 2026, Gunneson pleaded not guilty before Judge Seth Rundell, and a trial was scheduled for August of that year.

However, the case did not go to trial. In July 2026, Allan Gunneson changed his plea, pleading guilty to a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Brian Baker. In August 2026, Judge Rundell sentenced Gunneson to 31 months in prison, to be followed by 24 months of post-release supervision.