On the morning of February 17, 2019, authorities in Kansas City, Missouri, launched a homicide investigation following a violent incident near a local nightclub. Anthony Dewond Williams, a 26-year-old Black male, was found fatally shot inside a vehicle in the 8600 block of Troost Avenue. Police had been dispatched to the area around 2:15 a.m. in response to a disturbance that had reportedly begun inside the KC Mingles nightclub and spilled out into the surrounding neighborhood.
Upon
arrival, first responders discovered Williams and a female companion inside the vehicle, both suffering from gunshot wounds. Williams was pronounced dead at the scene, while the female victim was transported to a nearby hospital where she was treated for her injuries and listed in stable condition. Witnesses at the scene reported that the shooting was the culmination of an earlier altercation involving the victims and at least one other individual inside the club.
At the time of the incident, investigators were searching for a black SUV that was seen fleeing the scene immediately after the shots were fired. Police appealed to the public for information, asking anyone who had been at the club or witnessed the disturbance to contact the TIPS Hotline. While other homicides occurring the same weekend resulted in immediate arrests, no suspects were publicly named or taken into custody in the immediate aftermath of Williams's death, and the occupants of the fleeing vehicle remained at large during the initial stages of the investigation.
