Video shows vehicle dump homicide victim in street Wednesday night in Kansas City

Surveillance video obtained by The Star appears to show a vehicle drive away seconds after a person was dumped in the street at a homicide scene Wednesday night in Kansas City.

Police were called about 9 p.m. to the intersection of Independence Avenue and Olive Street, where they found a person with traumatic injuries. The person died and police launched a homicide investigation.

Video from a surveillance camera at a nearby business shows a car heading west on Independence Avenue and stopping in one of the lanes at 8:50 p.m., according to the timestamp on the recording. Thirty seconds later, it turns south onto Olive Street and an object left behind in the road can be seen.

Employees at the business pointed out two flashes that appear to come from the vehicle that they believed were gunfire.

The owner of the business showed the video to a Star reporter Thursday afternoon but asked not to be named in this story.

In the video, traffic continues to pass by and around 8:53 p.m. two cars stop in the lane, blocking vehicles from striking the body. Members of the Kansas City Police Department are seen arriving two minutes later.

Officers found the victim, who was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced deceased, according to Officer Donna Drake, a police department spokeswoman.

The victim was identified Thursday as 30-year-old Abdullahi Yussuf.

The owner of the business said police had not visited him to ask about the homicide or see if they had surveillance videos.

He added that the videos are only kept temporarily due to the amount of space they require.

He said Wednesday night’s homicide was surprising and that the area had not seen any major problems in the past couple of years. An employee at another nearby business, who did not want to be named, said the area was usually quiet.

But, he said, “the gun violence in this city is pretty aggressive.”

The city has suffered 10 homicides so far this month and a total of 33 this year. Most were a result of shootings. Last year, the city recorded 171 killings, the second worst year on record after 2020.

While the employee said he did not know what the solution was, he said the city’s response to the problem seems reactive rather than proactive.

John Naai lives near the intersection where the homicide was reported. Last night, he heard sirens but did not know what happened.

Naai came to the U.S. in 2003 from South Sudan. He attributed violent crime to several problems including access to guns, drugs, unemployment and the breakdown of the family unit. Here, he said, people don’t look after each other.

“People need to come together,” Naai said. “But the politicians in office, they don’t see it.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.