Boy killed in sleep when drive-by gunman sprays house with two dozen bullets

An 8-year-old Missouri boy was shot to death in his sleep by a gunman who sprayed his house with bullets from a passing car.

The boy’s mother was seriously injured in the 11:30 p.m. Saturday shooting, said authorities in Kansas City, Mo.

They were in their home, the boy asleep in his bed, when the house was riddled with about two dozen bullets, police said.

The two were rushed to hospitals, where the boy was pronounced dead and the woman was admitted with a gunshot wound to the leg, in serious but stable condition. She is expected to recover.

A man who lives in the neighborhood of the shooting told The Kansas City Star that when he heard about 30 gunshots Saturday night it sounded like business as usual, as it’s a common sound in the neighborhood.

He figured someone was firing into the air or emptying a clip into the ground. Another woman thought it was fireworks.

Kansas City’s top elected official said he was shocked by the shooting.

“I was in church today and was almost brought to tears,” Mayor Quinton Lucas told WDAF-TV. “Why someone shoots up a house — killing a kid who is in bed — is beyond me. It’s heinous. It’s the type of thing we won’t tolerate.”

Police knew of no motive and had no suspects, the Star said. They appealed to the public for any leads.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said on Twitter that the exceptionally bright, LEGO-loving child was excitedly awaiting the start of school, and his impending shopping trip for a new backpack.

“I know we are tired, even exasperated but we must also feel the outrage over this little boy’s death,” Baker tweeted. “His short life ended, and all of his future contributions to this community are gone too.”

The woman was renting the house from Donald Martin, 85, who told the Star she was a good mother and that the boy was a “nice little kid.”