On the afternoon of Sunday, August 20, 2017, 44-year-old Keith Leshon Cole was fatally shot in broad daylight in South Kansas City near Longview Road and Blue Ridge Boulevard. Kansas City Police responded around 12:45 p.m. after reports of gunfire and found Cole on the sidewalk with life-threatening gunshot wounds; he was rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead shortly after arrival. His death was counted as the city’s 95th homicide that year.

Witnesses told investigators they saw a person dressed entirely in black fleeing the scene on foot. No arrest was made immediately, and the case was listed among unsolved homicides as detectives canvassed the neighborhood for leads. Family and friends remembered Cole as a Ruskin High School alumnus at funeral services held at Swope Parkway Church of Christ.

If anyone has information about the shooting or the person seen running from the scene, contact the Kansas City Police Department.