Police in Kansas City, Missouri, say that they’ve received a tip in the death of a 1-year-old boy who was fatally shot while in the car with his parents. Tyron Payton was killed on September 21, after an assailant walked up to his family’s car and fired several shots into their vehicle. And now police are hoping this most recent piece of information will lead them to Tyron’s killer.
The incident happened just before 3 p.m., while the family’s car was parked.
According to Action News Jax, the gunfire struck Tyron, as well as three adults who were also in the car.
The family then drove to a nearby fire station looking for help.
They were immediately rushed to a local hospital where Tyron died from his gunshot wound. Both of his parents were treated for critical injuries but have since stabilized.
A tweet from the Kansas City Police Department states that the shooting was not a “drive-by.”
And now police are doing everything in their power to figure out who might have committed this terrible act.
In a separate tweet from September 21, police stated that they were "stunned at this callousness & violence & will not rest until we find the killer."
"Whoever shot into this car had no regard for the lives of anyone inside, least of all the young child that was killed," a follow up tweet states. "We will be investigating until we find who is responsible."
So far, police have only received one tip about the shooting, but are urging anyone with information to come forward.
KCTV reports that at this time, police are not able to go into detail about the tip, but said they are “making headway identifying persons of interest.” They are are still pushing for citizen participation in helping them piece together what happened.
“If there’s one person, then there should be 10,” KCPD Sgt. Jake Becchina told WKRG. “You know, by the end of the day, that’s my challenge. I mean we got one, then let’s get 10, and then tomorrow let’s get 100.”
“We need your leads, we need to make sure this stops,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas told KCTV. “One way we make sure it stops is that those who do these sorts of things are held accountable. Because when you look at the shot up vehicle, you recognize that these are people that had no regard for the life of anybody.”
Police say the car Tyron was in that day is being used for evidence, but tips could help lead to a faster arrest.
“That’s why someone calling and telling us who is responsible is way more effective and efficient than processing through all that,” Becchina told WKRG. “We’ll do all that, but right now somebody is walking around in our city that did this, and they don’t need to be.”
“If you’re hearing something, there’s at least one person walking around free right now that knows about this,” he added.
Becchina wanted to remind people that calling the police tip line is 100% anonymous.
“Literally, they do not ask your name,” he explained. “They give you a number when you submit your tip. You can then take that number and follow up and see if it was helpful. If it was, they tell you how to go to bank and get your cash money.”
If you have any information about the shooting, police are asking you call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477. There is a $25,000 reward being offered.
“YOU can be part of the solution;” a tweet from KCPD states, “call @KCCrimeStop 474-TIPS now, not tomorrow; tonight!”
