Xindong Hao, a 38-year-old Chinese male, had traveled to Kansas City, Missouri, with his wife and four young children to join fellow missionaries at the International House of Prayer. The family had only been in the city for a brief time, intending to study and connect with the evangelical community, when tragedy struck on the evening of August 1, 2018.
Hao was taking a walk in the specialized south Kansas City neighborhood where he was staying, specifically in the 3600 block of Bridge Manor Drive, when he crossed paths with a stranger.
While Hao was speaking on his cell phone, he was approached by 18-year-old Curtrail Hudson. Hudson, who was later determined to be under the influence of PCP, had been involved in an argument with another individual nearby. Upon hearing Hao speaking, Hudson mistakenly believed the missionary was an accomplice to the person he had been quarreling with. Hudson reportedly thought he heard Hao say, 'He is right here,' and reacted with sudden and lethal violence. He opened fire with a shotgun, striking Hao, and then proceeded to strike the fallen man with the butt of the weapon. Witnesses later described seeing Hudson flee the scene, continuing to fire the weapon as he ran, while Hao was left fatally wounded on the pavement.
Police officers responding to the chaotic scene found Hao deceased in front of a residence, surrounded by shotgun shell casings. The violent spree did not end with Hao; Hudson also shot at others in the area, wounding two additional victims before throwing his weapon into a storm drain. Investigators eventually recovered the shotgun and arrested Hudson, who claimed he had been paranoid and fearful at the time of the shooting due to his intoxicated state. He was charged with second-degree murder, as well as multiple counts of armed criminal action, assault, and unlawful use of a weapon.
The legal process for Hudson extended over several years. Although he initially entered a guilty plea, he later withdrew it, sending the case to trial. On February 10, 2020, a jury in Jackson County convicted Hudson of second-degree murder and the accompanying charges. Later that year, on November 5, 2020, a judge sentenced him to serve a total of 26 years in prison for the senseless killing that cut short the life of a father and husband who had come to the United States in search of spiritual fellowship.
