There’s a ‘gang feud’ in Wichita, police say; 2 children hurt in shootings this week

There’s a gang feud between two street gangs in Wichita, and two young children were hit in the crossfire this week, police say.

Tuesday afternoon, a 7-month-old baby was hit by shrapnel from a drive-by shooting in the 2300 block of North Chautauqua, near 21st and Hillside.

The next evening, a 2-year-old girl was hit in the foot during a drive-by shooting in the 3800 block of East Ross Parkway in the Planeview neighborhood.

The two shootings are connected, Wichita police Officer Charley Davidson said Friday.

At around 10:15 Thursday night, Wichita police arrested a man on suspicion of shooting the 2-year-old girl, who was on a playground with three other children at the time of the shooting. The child’s 26-year-old father was present during the shooting and took the child to the hospital, police said.

Police Chief Gordon Ramsay was “outraged” that the parents of the child were not cooperating with police and said that the shooting is part of “an ongoing gang feud between two street gangs,” a release about the shooting said.

The girl was shot in the foot. The baby was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Neither of the children’s injuries were life threatening, Davidson said.

Kerry Grant, 18, was identified by Sedgwick County Jail records as the man arrested in the case. Grant was booked on aggravated battery and aggravated assault charges early Friday morning.

Davidson said the 18-year-old man was arrested in the 3000 block of south George Washington Boulevard. An unidentified 16-year-old boy was arrested at the same location at the same time for possession of marijuana, possession of a firearm by a felon and criminal possession of a firearm by a juvenile, police records show.

This story was originally published August 17, 2018 at 10:37 AM.