In the summer of 2019, a Kansas City family was struck by a devastating and swift succession of tragedies. On the evening of July 8th, 18-year-old Charles Pelton, a young man and father to a 9-month-old son, went to the Evangel Church on East 103rd Street to play basketball. What should have been a casual game turned into a scene of violence when gunfire erupted in the church parking lot. Pelton was shot and, though he was rushed to a nearby hospital, he succumbed to his injuries.
Witnesses at the scene reported seeing a white SUV fleeing the area shortly after the shooting. A neighbor recalled hearing as many as 17 gunshots from what sounded like two different firearms.
The shock of Charles Pelton's death was compounded by the fact that his family was already in mourning. Just 48 hours earlier, his 25-year-old cousin, Ki'essence Pelton, had been shot and killed in a separate and apparently unrelated incident while riding in a car near 39th Street and Myrtle Avenue. The back-to-back killings of the two cousins, who were described as being very close, left their family utterly devastated as they were forced to plan two funerals instead of one. The community shared in the family's grief and frustration over the persistent gun violence plaguing the city.
In the immediate aftermath of Charles Pelton's death, the Kansas City Police Department opened a homicide investigation. Surveillance video from the church captured a white SUV backing into a parking space near the basketball court just before the shooting and people scrambling for cover as the shots were fired. Despite this footage and witness accounts, authorities did not release any description of a suspect. Law enforcement officials appealed to the public for any information that could lead to an arrest, with the local Crime Commission offering a significant reward for tips. However, there have been no subsequent public announcements regarding any arrests, charges, or the identification of any suspects in the killing of Charles Pelton. The case, like that of his cousin, remains a painful and unresolved chapter for their family and the wider Kansas City community.
