In the winter of 2017, the life of 16-year-old Alexis Marie Mitchell was tragically cut short in a burst of violence that left a Kansas City, Missouri, community in mourning. A sophomore at Raytown South High School, Alexis was known for her love of basketball and her kind, quiet nature.
On the evening of Wednesday, December 13, 2017, police were called to the Park Meadows Apartments in the 7900 block of Manchester Avenue, where they found Alexis with a life-threatening gunshot wound.
She was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition. For two days, her family and friends held onto hope, but her injuries proved too severe. Alexis succumbed to her injuries on Friday, December 15, 2017.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Kansas City police reported that one person had been taken into custody. However, law enforcement did not publicly release the individual's name or any potential motive for the shooting. The investigation into her death has not yielded any publicly available updates regarding arrests, suspects, or charges in the years that have followed.
Family and friends gathered for a vigil to remember the young girl they described as sweet and athletic. They wore red and black, her favorite colors, and released red balloons into the air in her memory. Her family, devastated by the sudden loss, remembered her as a loving daughter and sibling. Despite the initial report of a person being in custody, the case of who killed Alexis Mitchell remains without a public resolution, leaving a painful void for those who knew and loved her.
