The Northland experienced a grim spike in violent crime this week, with two separate homicide investigations leaving three adults dead and a community searching for answers.
Late Wednesday evening, just before 8:30 p.m., police were dispatched to a residence in the 1200 block of NE 83rd Terrace on a call initially described as “nature unknown.” When officers arrived, they were directed inside the home, where they discovered an adult male and an adult female suffering from gunshot wounds. Both were pronounced deceased at the scene.
A juvenile male was also found inside the residence with an unknown injury. He was transported to a local hospital for evaluation. Authorities have not released details on his condition.
Police say the incident is being treated as a death investigation, and investigators are not currently searching for any additional suspects. Detectives and crime scene personnel are canvassing the area for witnesses, physical evidence, and surveillance footage as they work to determine what led up to the shootings.
The incident follows another deadly shooting earlier this week in Gladstone on Monday, where authorities say Jeffery King has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Chris Wells. The shooting occurred along NE 78th Street in the Maple Wood Estates neighborhood.
According to residents, the shooting was the culmination of years of disputes and alleged intimidation involving King—behavior neighbors say was widely known but never quite escalated to a point that prompted decisive intervention. That changed Monday morning, when what some described as ongoing neighborhood drama ended not with mediation or a strongly worded HOA email, but with gunfire.
Police say that investigation is also ongoing.
For many Northland residents, the two incidents in the same week have raised troubling questions about how situations described as “years in the making” can still end in sudden, irreversible violence. As detectives continue their work, neighbors are left grappling with a familiar aftermath: shock, grief, and the uneasy realization that warning signs, in hindsight, often appear clearer than they did in the moment.
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