2024 homicides in Wichita, Kansas, see drop in age of suspects, victims

Wichita’s 2024 homicides had a notable year-over-year drop in the average age of the suspects and victims, according to an Eagle analysis of the homicides.

The average age of the suspects in the 43 homicides last year was roughly 25; it was 33 for the 48 homicides in 2023 and an average age of 28 for the 35 homicides in 2022.

The average age of the victims last year was roughly 32, compared to 36 in 2023 and 26 in 2022.

“Chief (Joseph) Sullivan has stated multiple times that many of our violent crime incidents, especially homicides involving young people, tend to stem from arguments that should be temporary and used to be resolved in other ways,” Wichita police Capt. Aaron Moses said.

“Unfortunately, some young people are choosing to resort to gun violence to resolve these issues now and not considering the permanent consequences related to that decision.”

Moses said, based on what Sullivan has heard from other chiefs involved in the Major City Chiefs Association, that other cities are seeing a similar trend.

Reports from municipalities across the country, such as Milwaukee, Baton Rouge and Virginia Beach, bear that out.

MCCA Deputy Director Patricia Williams said the organization doesn’t track data on ages of people involved in homicides, so it wouldn’t be able to compare Wichita’s drop in 2024 to other cities. FBI data for 2024 also isn’t yet available.

‘Not a new phenomenon’

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said gun violence in the early 90s had a “strong contingent of youth-involved violence, so this is not a new phenomenon.” Nationally, the number of teens involved in homicides as victims and as suspects reached all-time highs in the 90s, data shows.

Bennett said, locally, there has been an uptick in youth involved in gun violence since at least 2021. This is because of the prevalence of more guns — a record number of guns were bought during the pandemic — and more social media spats, he said.

Bennett said he couldn’t think of an instance where a teenage suspect in a shooting had a legally-obtained gun. He said the more guns purchased by people inevitably led to more guns being able to be stolen.

“When there more of a thing, there is more access to that thing,” he said, adding social media has also increased youth involvement in homicides. “Kids are on it constantly. The number of homicides that occur involving kids in their teens and early 20s because of a perceived act of disrespect on social media is significant.”

Younger victims, suspects

Here is a look at some of the 2024 homicides that involved younger victims and suspects. The Eagle generally does not name juveniles accused or convicted in criminal matters unless they are charged in adult court.

Jan. 26: Both 14-year-old Emoni Shears and 19-year-old Jhiquez Roberts were shot while inside a vehicle in the 5200 block of East Kensington, in northeast Wichita. Police arrested five teens — 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 — all on suspicion of murder. The victims and most of the suspects are all males from Wichita, except the 15-year-old suspect, who is a boy from Garden City.

Jan. 28: Claude Hodges, 14, was a freshman at Northwest High School when he was fatally shot by his mother at their Aspen Park apartments in the 8400 block of West Central. His mother was then shot by SWAT after eventually coming outside, after she put a gun on the ground and then quickly picked it up and pointed it at officers, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation said. Kylee Hodges, 44, was sentenced in July to first-degree felony murder. She won’t be eligible for parole for 25 years.

Feb. 2: Julio Ruiz, 17, of Wichita was taken to a hospital, where he died, after a shooting was reported in the 100 block of North Zelta, in east Wichita. A 14-year-old Wichita boy was arrested on suspicion of murder. In September he pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder, and in October he was sentenced to serve in the state’s juvenile correctional facility until he is 22 1/2 years old, which was the maximum sentence available.

Feb. 19: One-year-old Taidyn Anderson was killed in what police called a “targeted incident” where shots were fired into an apartment at Sugar Creek Apartments, 2550 South Oliver, in southeast Wichita. Police arrested three Wichita males, ages 17, 21 and 25, on suspicion of felony murder in the death. The trial for K’Veion Richard, now 26, began last week for multiple counts, including first-degree murder. Jonathan Tillery-Matthias, now 22, has a jury trial set for May. He also faces multiple counts, including first-degree murder. The 17-year-old, who is now 18, has also had multiple charges filed against him, including first-degree murder, the DA’s office said. The DA’s office is currently trying to get a judge to approve him being tried as an adult.

Oct. 9: 16-year-old Robert Florence, a junior at Northwest High School, was fatally shot at his family’s apartment in the 9100 block of East Harry. His mother, Tesha Florence, 46, has been charged with multiple counts, including second-degree murder.

Oct. 31: Two boys, ages 13 and 15, were shot during a “disturbance/fight” at the QuikTrip on Central and Oliver, police said. The younger boy, Donald Williams, an eighth-grader at Curtis Middle School, died at a hospital. Two cousins, Jermall Lynn Campbell, 19, and Carrice Profit, 20, have both been charged with multiple counts, including first-degree murder.

Dec. 14: David Hernandez-Cervantez, 19, was fatally shot at Sim Park in the Riverside neighborhood. A 22-year-old Wichita man was also critically injured in the shooting. A 17-year-old Wichita boy has been charged with multiple counts, including first-degree murder.

This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 4:27 AM.