On a spring afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri, the life of 23-year-old Xavier Townsend-Keith was tragically cut short. On May 28, 2024, after walking his girlfriend to a bus stop near his home at the intersection of East 51st Street and Prospect Avenue, he lingered to use the station's free Wi-Fi, a common practice for him. It was then that gunshots rang out. His mother, Rashawnda Perry-Townsend, heard the shots from their nearby home and, filled with a sense of dread, tried to call her son.
A stranger answered his phone and delivered the devastating news that he had been shot.
Police responded to the scene around 1 p.m. and found Townsend-Keith lying on the sidewalk with multiple gunshot wounds. His mother rushed to his side, speaking to him as he lay injured. He was transported to a local hospital, still breathing during the ambulance ride, but ultimately succumbed to his injuries upon arrival. Known to friends and family as a 'gentle giant,' Xavier was a semi-professional football player for the Kansas City Legion with aspirations of making it to the NFL. His death marked the 60th homicide in Kansas City in 2024.
The investigation into the targeted shooting led authorities to 24-year-old Garrett N. King of Independence. Surveillance footage from near the scene showed a white 2017 Subaru Impreza, later found to have been stolen, driving past the bus stop multiple times while Townsend-Keith was there. According to court documents, the gun used in the homicide had been linked to two prior incidents where shots were fired into the Townsend-Keith home months earlier. Townsend-Keith's girlfriend informed detectives that he and King had been friends but had a falling-out over money that King allegedly owed him.
In August 2024, Garrett N. King was charged with six felonies, including first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, and tampering with a motor vehicle in connection with the death of Xavier Townsend-Keith. A warrant was issued for his arrest with a bond set at $250,000. For his grieving mother, the loss was another chapter in a series of profound tragedies, as Xavier was the third child she had unexpectedly lost.
