Jasity Strong

Jasity Strong, a 28-year-old Black woman known to family as “Jas” or “Jazz,” was a certified nursing assistant and a talented makeup artist with a bright, bubbly personality. A devoted mother to her young son and daughter, she was described by loved ones as the life of the party who loved being around family and friends. Her mother’s home was affectionately called “Club Mama’s House,” a frequent gathering spot. Jasity was inspired to enter the healthcare field and was on her way to becoming a registered nurse after seeing the care her grandmother had received.

In the early morning hours of June 25, 2023, Jasity was out with friends celebrating her 28th birthday. The group was at an after-hours gathering in a parking lot near an auto repair shop at the intersection of 57th Street and Prospect Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. Shortly after 4:30 a.m., an argument that Jasity was not involved in escalated into a mass shooting. As she tried to flee the gunfire, she was struck twice in the back. Jasity was one of three people killed in the incident, which also left six others wounded. The other two victims who died were 29-year-old Camden M. Brown and 22-year-old Nikko A. Manning, who was also celebrating a recent birthday.

Kansas City police arrived to find the victims in the parking lot and street. Detectives immediately began working leads, and by that evening, a subject of interest was taken into custody at a home in Grandview. The man was identified as 26-year-old Keivon M. Greene. At the time of the shooting, Greene had been out on bond for a separate incident in which he was charged with resisting arrest.

Greene was charged with three counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of Jasity Strong, Camden Brown, and Nikko Manning. He also faced charges of first-degree assault and three counts of armed criminal action. With an arrest made and charges filed, the case was considered solved by investigators.

The loss of Jasity left her family, particularly her mother, Tamika Jenkins, and her two children, with immense grief. Her mother remembered her as her "first born" and her "first love." In the wake of the tragedy, Jasity’s aunt and mother began advocating for "Jasity's Law," a petition to restrict the concealed carry of firearms in large gathering places to prevent similar events. As of August 2023, the criminal case against Keivon Greene was proceeding through the court system.