A Kansas City man has been charged in the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Ja’Carious McKissic after an argument between the two last month.
Justyn Reedus, 24, is charged with manslaughter, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action.
McKissic was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the front yard of a home on East 110th Terrace St. on May 31 around 11:30 p.m., according to Kansas City police. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Reedus and McKissic appear to have known each other before the fatal argument and the two followed each other on social media.
According to court documents, two people witnessed the shooting, one of whom lived at the home on Terrace.
Detectives with the Kansas City Police Department were told that Reedus and McKissic had an argument at the home shortly before the shooting, according to court documents.
A witness told investigators that McKissic tried to break away from the argument, saying he had had enough and gathering his belongings to leave, court documents show.
Reedus followed McKissic to the porch, where he pulled a gun, pushed McKissic off the porch and then shot him five times, according to court documents. According to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, these actions were captured on video footage reviewed by detectives.
According to court documents, Reedus turned himself in to Kansas City police on June 7.
McKissic – who often went by his nickname Zelli, or his middle name Isaiah – played for the Kansas City Bulldogs and the North Kansas City Knights, both minor league football teams in the Midwest Football League. He previously lived in Alabama, where he graduated from high school in 2019.
The Bulldogs held a moment of silence in honor of McKissic prior to their most recent game on Monday. McKissic, a wide receiver with several team records, had hoped to one day play professional football, the Knights posted on social media.
“As exceptional as Zelli was on the field, he was an even better person off the field,” the team wrote online on June 3. “Adored by his teammates and friends, he had the special gift of bringing smiles to those around him. ”
According to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, Reedus is being held on a $200,000 bond. He will next appear in court on June 17 at 1:30 p.m.
McKissic’s death was the 61st homicide reported in Kansas City in 2024, according to data collected by The Star.
Around the same time last year, 77 murders had been reported in the city.
