In the quiet neighborhood of south Wichita, Kansas, a tragedy unfolded on the evening of January 13, 2023, forever altering the lives of two families. Inside a residence in the 2200 block of South Millwood Street, 16-year-old Seaquori Smith, a Black / African American male, was spending time with a friend. What should have been a typical evening for the teenagers took a devastating turn.
Responding to a 911 call at approximately 8:30 p.m., police officers discovered Seaquori with a
single gunshot wound to his upper body. He was rushed to a local hospital, but his injuries proved fatal, and he was pronounced dead. The investigation that followed revealed a grim picture of adolescent curiosity and recklessness gone horribly wrong.
The person who made the distress call was 15-year-old Makyh Townes, the resident of the home and Seaquori's companion that night. Investigations determined that Townes had been "recklessly manipulating a firearm" when it discharged, striking Seaquori. The two boys were the only people present in the house at the time of the incident. Townes was subsequently arrested in connection with the fatal shooting.
Initially charged as an adult with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a firearm by a minor, Makyh Townes later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter on May 24, 2024. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault in separate cases. For the death of Seaquori Smith, a judge sentenced Townes to 128 months in prison, a little over 10 and a half years, with the sentences for the assault charges to be served concurrently.
