In the pre-dawn hours of a Saturday in Wichita, Kansas, a gathering of several people at a home in the 1300 block of North Volutsia took a tragic turn. On September 12, 2020, Christian Waters, a 22-year-old Black man, was caught in a moment of violence that would end his life. Around 4:15 a.m., an argument erupted among those at the house party. The dispute quickly escalated, and in the ensuing chaos, a suspect fired a gun multiple times.
Christian Waters was struck by the gunfire.
He was rushed to a local hospital for treatment, but the injuries he sustained were too severe, and he was pronounced dead. The shooting was not a random act of violence, according to Wichita police, who believed Waters was targeted. The event that led to his death was a sudden and violent disturbance during what had been an unspecified gathering of people.
The investigation into the death of Christian Waters was immediately hampered by a significant challenge: a lack of cooperation from the witnesses present at the scene. Police officials publicly stated that this "lack of all cooperation" was preventing investigators from piecing together the precise circumstances of the shooting and identifying the person responsible. As of a couple of days following the incident, no arrests had been made in connection with the homicide. Detectives urged anyone with information to come forward, offering anonymity through various tip lines in the hope that someone would break the silence and help bring closure to the case.
