‘Hearts are heavy’: Murder charge filed in killing of KCK community college hoops player

Police in Peoria, Illinois, arrested a man accused of killing an 18-year-old Kansas City Kansas Community College student athlete while he was in Illinois last month.

Mike’Quese Taylor, a Peoria resident, died April 30 following a shooting at his home in Illinois.

Peoria police served search warrants at two homes in the area on May 14, and arrested a 20-year-old in connection with the shooting. Messiah Z. Carpenter, listed in jail records as a Peoria resident, was charged with one count of first-degree murder for Taylor’s death, the department said.

The Peoria Journal Star reported last week a feud between two groups led up to the shooting, citing information from prosecutors. The newspaper reported witnesses said Taylor was washing his car when two men dressed in black and wearing black masks approached him, shot him and fled. Prosecutors said surveillance video appeared to show Taylor walking out of the home with a firearm before the shooting, the newspaper said.

Taylor was found with a gunshot wound and was taken to an area hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to Peoria police.

Memorial services for Taylor are scheduled for Saturday in Peoria and will be streamed on Facebook, according to Taylor’s obituary. KCKCC’s athletics department said on X, formerly known as Twitter, it was arranging transportation for any of the school’s students who wanted to attend the services.

“Mike’Quese was energetic, passionate, head strong, and driven,” his obituary said. “These characteristics were exemplary on and off the court, as he was a role model to many.”

KCKCC head men’s basketball coach Brandon Burgette wrote on a GoFundMe page for Taylor’s family that Taylor was killed in front of his home as he was back from school following the birth of his newborn son.

Taylor was pursuing a liberal arts major and was already enrolled for the fall semester, the school said.

“Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of our beloved brother, teammate, and friend, Mike’Quese,” Burgette said in a statement released by the school. “His competitive spirit, contagious laugh and sense of humor will be deeply missed. He was a true teammate we could always count on every day. His presence will forever be felt within our organization. Rest in peace.”

As a freshman guard, Taylor averaged 10 points per game for the Blue Devils, as the team went 22-10 and won a regular season championship in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference.