On January 12, 2021, a violent series of events in Kansas City, Missouri, claimed the life of 60-year-old Linda Gantt. Officers were dispatched to the 3600 block of Olive Street just before 2:00 p.m. following multiple reports of gunfire in the area. Upon arrival, police located a chaotic crime scene littered with 19 spent 9mm shell casings, bullet fragments, and shattered glass.
While investigating the site of the shooting, authorities learned that the victim had already been transported from the scene in a private vehicle. The car carrying Gantt had stopped near 45th Street and Prospect Avenue, where police found her suffering from gunshot wounds. She was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to her injuries later that day.
Witness accounts provided to investigators detailed a confrontation that precipitated the deadly shooting. Gantt had reportedly approached a driver to ask for a ride to a residence near 36th and Olive Streets. After they arrived at the location, a man identified as Travon M. Williams approached the passenger side of the vehicle where Gantt was seated. Witnesses stated that Williams began arguing with Gantt and pointed a pistol at her. As the driver attempted to flee the escalating danger by pulling away from the curb and driving southbound, Williams opened fire on the retreating vehicle. The driver heard a volley of approximately 15 shots and the sound of shattering glass before Gantt announced she had been hit.
Following the shooting, the 25-year-old suspect allegedly continued a violent rampage. Prosecutors stated that after firing upon the car, Williams targeted a woman he had previously dated, forcing her into his red SUV at gunpoint. He reportedly threatened her life, drove her to a gas station, and then to her grandmother's home in Kansas City, Kansas, where he fired multiple shots into the residence. Williams then fled to Henry County, Missouri. Law enforcement officers tracked him to Clinton, Missouri, where he was taken into custody. During the arrest, detectives recovered a firearm that forensic analysis later determined was the weapon used to fire the shell casings found at the scene of Gantt's murder.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office charged Travon M. Williams with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and two counts of armed criminal action in connection with the death of Linda Gantt and the subsequent abduction. Court records indicated that Williams had a prior criminal history, having been convicted in 2019 of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action related to a separate death in 2016. At the time of the charges for Gantt's killing, prosecutors requested a $1 million cash bond for the suspect.
