Kansas City shooting near East High School Friday upgraded to homicide investigation

A shooting in Kansas City Friday night has been upgraded to a homicide after the victim died Sunday.

Police responded to the 1800 block of Hardesty, near East High School, on a shooting call around 10:30 p.m. and found Pablo Rodriguez, 38, unresponsive inside a vehicle. Rodriguez was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, but died Sunday, according to a news release from Kansas City police.

Preliminary investigative findings indicate the shooting took place when Rodriguez had an interaction with one or more people, which then escalated to shots being fired.

The homicide unit said that the case is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact homicide detectives at (816) 234-5043 or the TIPS hotline anonymously at (816) 474-TIPS.

There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted anonymously, the release said.

This was Kansas City’s 42nd homicide of the year, according to data tracked by The Star, compared to 48 at this time in 2023, the deadliest year in recorded history in Kansas City.