Man killed during small gathering at NW Wichita home identified; no arrest

A 22-year-old Wichita man died after being shot early Wednesday morning during a small gathering in the backyard of a northwest Wichita home, Wichita police Capt. Jason Stephens said.

Jacob Kalese was shot multiple times and died after being taken to an area hospital.

Kalese went with his girlfriend to the home in the 2400 block of North Sunny Lane, near 21st and Hoover. At the home, a male suspect walked into the backyard and a disturbance occurred between him and Kalese, police said.

The suspect then pulled out a handgun and fired multiple shots at Kalese, Stephens said. Officers responded to the shooting at around 12:50 a.m. Wednesday.

“At this time, it is believed that the suspect is known to either the victim or other occupants of the gathering,” he said. “It’s too early in the investigation to determine what (the) motive is.”

Police did not know if the suspect walked or arrived at the home by vehicle.

Devin Stilwell, who lives next door to where the shooting happened, said his wife heard “bang, bang, bang” and a girl’s or woman’s voice say “help me, help me.” His wife led the first arriving officer to the neighbor’s backyard.

In the backyard, which is only partly closed off by an unfinished fence, they found someone giving CPR to Kalese, he said.

“It makes me very nervous, especially having kids” he said about the shooting, pointing to the area where his 2-year-old twins have plastic cars and other toys on the side of their property closest to their neighbor’s home.

All in all, he said, the people who live there are good people.

Anyone with information about the case may call Wichita police detectives at 316-268-4407, Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111 or the See Something, Say Something hotline at 316-519-2282.

This is the 10th criminal homicide of the year and 12th homicide overall. Police have labeled the other two homicides as justified homicides. Wichita had nine homicides at this time last year.

This story was originally published March 3, 2021 at 9:13 AM.