From Ralph Yarl to Olathe shooting, KC had a bad week. And it all comes back to guns | Opinion

This week was one that saw the unprovoked shooting of a young Black Northlander gain national attention, the aftermath of two teens taking each other’s lives in a double shooting inside a car in Olathe, and an armed man taken down by Kansas City police officers. And road rage incident on Interstate 70 led to a fatal encounter, too.

If you haven’t already, pause for a moment. And calmly collect your breath.

News that 16-year-old shooting victim Ralph Yarl was recovering after Andrew D. Lester shot him in the head and arm came as a relief. The honor student at Staley High School has a tough road ahead of him, family members said. But he’s home and recuperating after being fired upon simply for ringing the wrong doorbell.

Is this what our gun-loving culture has come to?

Why did the homeowner open fire within seconds of seeing the teen on his front porch? Because Ralph was Black, Lester told authorities after the shooting.

Here’s the problem, though: Ralph was no threat to Lester. He did nothing wrong. The teenager was looking for his younger twin brothers and went to the wrong address. The unprovoked shooting captured the nation’s attention and reignited what should be an ongoing conversation on race relations in this country and the proliferation of guns.

A GoFundMe campaign for Ralph surpassed $3 million in donations after he was shot. Now will that enthusiasm help lead to change? We’re hopeful.

Lester’s legal saga is just beginning. Two hours after Lester shot Ralph, Kansas City police inexplicably released him from custody without charges. Outraged followed.

Days later, Clay County prosecutors finally charged the 84-year-old retired airplane mechanic with one count each of first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He was released from jail after posting bond. In his first court appearance, Lester pleaded not guilty to the accusations.

Sadly, if convicted, Lester could die in jail. But that would be his cross to bear for his actions.

Mysterious double teen shooting in Olathe

How do two teenagers who didn’t know each other end up fatally shooting each other inside a vehicle in Olathe?

We couldn’t make this up.

An investigation into the shooting last weekend determined the teens killed each other, Olathe police told us Thursday. How, you ask? With guns, of course.

Details of how 19-year-old Jessica Hicks of Olathe and 18-year-old Monterrio Spencer Jr. of Kansas City crossed paths are murky at best, police said. On Friday, investigators were still trying to determine how two strangers ended up in the same vehicle that came to rest near the Sola Salons at Rogers and Strang Line roads, authorities said.

When officers arrived on scene about 4:45 p.m. Saturday, they found Hicks mortally wounded. Spencer died at a hospital.

We still didn’t know how these two young adults ended up killing each other in the same car. But we do know they were both armed.

Highway road rage leads to murder charge

Missouri’s proliferation of guns can be attributed to the state’s loose gun laws, community activists say. Anyone 18 and older can legally possess a concealed weapon without training or certification.

Who knows what kind of firearm training Charles J. Smith Jr., 18, of Cape Girardeau might have undergone before he obtained the gun he allegedly used to fatally shoot Gary L. Denham of Oak Grove?

Authorities took Smith into custody after a 17-hour manhunt. Smith was found hiding in Sweet Springs, about 40 miles from where he fired upon Denham after jostling vehicles during a fit of road rage on Interstate 70 just east of Kansas City.

Prosecutors charged Smith with second-degree murder, unlawful weapon use and armed criminal action in the shooting. His bond was set at $250,000.

Denham’s death is tragic. In the coming days, we will learn more about the incident. But in a state where so many people stash firearms in their automobiles’ consoles and glove boxes, drivers have an extra incentive to avoid conflict at all costs. When perceived slights can turn into deadly encounters, we must show one another more mercy and grace, behind the wheel and everywhere else.

Officer-involved fatal shooting

It’s not just teenagers. On Wednesday, investigators with the Missouri State Highway Patrol told us Kansas City police fatally shot a man they say was waving a firearm at bystanders. He was identified as 43-year-old Reginald E. Byers Jr. He failed to comply with commands to drop the weapon, according to a spokesperson for the highway patrol, the agency investigating the deadly shooting.

Not much is yet known about Byers or the circumstances that led to his death. A concerned witness called the police, and rightfully so. But did responding officers do enough to diffuse the situation, as one resident said to a Star reporter?

The public always deserves transparency any time law enforcement is involved in a fatality: Who are the officers involved? How long have they been on the force? Do they reside in the area they patrol? What are their histories with people in the neighborhood? Have they been involved in on duty, use-of-force incidents in the past?

These are all questions that could be answered without jeopardizing the officer’s safety or right to due process. Police agencies in other cities routinely release pertinent information in a timely manner in similar situations. Kansas City police do not.

Until the KCPD updates its policy on officer-involved shootings, the public will remain wary. We know the department has repeat offenders patrolling the street. We’re watching the developments in this latest officer-involved shooting closely. Kansas Citians should, too.

In America, the right to own a gun is protected. But we’re seeing more proof every day that the bumper sticker wisdom of “an armed society is a polite society” is wishful fiction about fallible human nature.

If nothing else, this past week should remind us that sensible gun laws could go a long way toward reducing the unnecessary, hotheaded violence that plagues Kansas City. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Most of all, don’t forget to breathe.