On a summer evening in Kansas City, Kansas, the life of 17-year-old LeAndrew Vaughn was tragically cut short. On August 6, 2017, the African American male was killed in a triple shooting. Just after 9 p.m., while sitting in a car with his 16-year-old cousin, Adarius Barber, and another teenage friend in the 6100 block of Haskell Avenue, gunfire erupted. Vaughn was pronounced dead at the scene, while Barber was rushed to a hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.
The third teenager in the vehicle was also wounded but survived.
Le'Andrew, known to his friends and family as "Drew" or "Dash," was about to begin his senior year at F.L. Schlagle High School, where he was an honor roll student and played baseball. He was remembered by those who knew him as a positive young man with high ambitions, who loved sports and was known for keeping the peace. A former Unified Government Commissioner, Tarence Maddox, recalled Vaughn as an honor roll student with lofty goals to achieve greatness. His baseball coach, Cle Ross, described him as "one of the kids that was doing it right," noting he came from a good home with a supportive mother and father. Le'Andrew had aspirations of playing college baseball and had already earned an academic scholarship to Wichita State University.
In the wake of the shooting, Le'Andrew's family was engulfed in grief and made emotional pleas to the community for answers. His mother, Crystal Hays, publicly urged anyone with information to come forward, condemning the senseless violence that took her son. The family's pain was compounded by the fact that they had experienced previous losses to gun violence. Despite their pleas and a police investigation, no arrests were immediately made in the days following the shooting. As of the latest available online reports, there has been no public announcement regarding any suspects or arrests in the murders of Le'Andrew Vaughn and Adarius Barber, and the case appears to remain unsolved.
