Kansas City, Kan., police say an arrest has been made in connection with the weekend shooting death of a Schlagle High School student.
Ramon C. Bradley, 17, was riding in a car early Sunday after leaving a community center party when the occupants of another vehicle fired shots into the car in the area of Third Street and Minnesota Avenue.
“He was a great loving kid,” said his great aunt, Cardelia Bradley Walker. “I don’t know of anything that would cause somebody to kill him.”
There were no reports of any problems at the party, and Walker said it appeared that her great nephew and his best friend since elementary school “got a ride with the wrong people on the wrong day.”
Bradley’s killing was the third time since 2005 that a member of the family has been a homicide victim, Walker said.
In February 2005, her 47-year-old nephew, Vincent Bradley, was found shot to death in the area of 16th Terrace and Crystal Street in Kansas City. Walker said no one has been charged in the case, but the family continues to have contact with a police detective about the case.
In November 2010, Walker’s cousin, an activist well known in the community for her work in helping minority students attend college, was killed in her Kansas City home in the 1200 block of Michigan Avenue.
A 19-year-old man later was arrested in the killing of Delia C. Young. He is charged with second-degree murder in the 67-year-old woman’s death and is scheduled to go to trial early next year, according to court records.
After her nephew’s killing in 2005, Walker said the family began having weekly prayer meetings. That has continued with monthly family dinners.
Ramon’s death will leave a big void at those gatherings, she said, particularly among the younger people in the family.
At a candlelight vigil Wednesday night, Walker and other family members implored the crowd to pass along any information that could help police investigate his killing.
“A lot of young people have been affected by this,” Walker said Thursday. “We have to do more to save the endangered species of young black men.”
The man arrested in connection with the case is being held in the Wyandotte County Jail, but no charges had been filed Thursday.
Police said the investigation is continuing and anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477 or the police department’s major case unit at 913-573-6020.
To reach Tony Rizzo, call 816-234-4435 or send email to trizzo@kcstar.com
