ONLINE. BACK AT HOME, A SUSPECT IS IN CUSTODY AFTER A 25-YEAR-OLD OVERLAND PARK WOMAN WAS KILLED IN A SHOOTING AT FIRST FRIDAY IN THE CROSSROADS. OFF DUTY POLICE OFFICERS MANAGED TO CATCH THE 18-YEAR-OLD SUSPECTED SHOOTER, WHO THEY SAY WAS INVOLVED IN A FIST FIGHT BEFORE IT ESCALATED TO GUN VIOLENCE BIANCA BELTRAN HAS MORE. >> PEOPLE HID WHERE THEY COULD AFTER GUNSHOTS RANG OUT IN THE CROSSROADS FRIDAY NIGHT. POLICE A 18-YEAR-OLD DEONTE COPKNEY WAS INVOLVED IN A FIGHT WHEN HE FIRED A GUN MULTIPLE TIMES NEAR THE FOOD TRUCKS ON 18TH STREET. THAT’S WHERE 25-YEAR-OLD ERIN LANGHOFER WAS STANDING WHEN SHE WAS HIT BY A STRAY BULLET AND KILLED. >> ERIN WAS A BRIGHT LIGHT WHOSE SMILE LIT UP A ROOM FROM T TIME SHE WAS A BABY. SHE HAD A BLOSSOMING CAREER AS A SOCIAL WORKER WHO WAS PASSIONATE ABOUT HER WORK WITH SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. >> MICHAEL EGAN IS A FAMILY FRIEND WHO READ A STATEMENT AT A PRESS CONFERENCE SATURDAY AFTERNOON ABOUT ERIN’S IMPACT IN KANSAS CITY. >> WHILE SHE IS GONE FROM US, HER LIGHT WILL CONTINUE TO SHINE BRIGHTLY THROUGH ALL THE PEOPLE SHE HAS TOUCHED. >> TWO OFF DUTY POLICE OFFICERS ARRESTED THE SHOOTER. BUT KANSAS CITY POLICE CHIEF RICK SMITH SAIS ITS GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN EXTRA SECURITY TO STOP GUN VIOLENCE. >> I CITY SHOULD NOT ACCEPT THIS VIOLENCE. THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS DOING EVERYTHING TO STEM THE VIOLENCE. WE NEED EVERYONE’S HELP HERE >> QUINTON LUCAS EMPHASIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERVENTION. >> TO ENSURE WE DO NOT HAVE ASSAILANTS LIKE THIS. MAKE SURE WE HAVE FOLKS THAT ARE LOOKING AT OTHER OPTIONS OTHER THAN PICKING UP GUNS. KELEIGH: THE SUSPECT IS FACING THREE FELONY CHARGES INCLUDING MU
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Kansas City man, 20, pleads guilty in 2019 fatal shooting during First Fridays
Erin Langhofer, 25, killed in August 2019
Updated: 6:06 PM CDT May 11, 2021
A Kansas City man has pleaded guilty to two felony charges in connection with a fatal shooting at First Fridays in August 2019.Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said that Deon’te Copkney, 20, recently pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action charges.On Aug. 3, 2019, Erin Langhofer, 25, was standing at the food trucks near 18th and Main streets during the First Fridays event, when she was struck by a bullet from a nearby disturbance.The Kansas City Police Department said Copkney was involved in a fistfight near 18th and Walnut streets before the incident escalated into gun violence.Copkney is scheduled to be sentenced by a Jackson County judge on July 23.Langhofer’s family released a statement:”Although the defendant has pleaded guilty, for us it is a hollow victory and an outcome in which no one ‘wins.’ As a family, we have tried to stand for and represent Erin through this legal process, and we believe this is the best possible resolution at this time. We have the utmost respect for the prosecutor’s office, which has kept us well informed during this difficult process. Erin’s death continues to have ripple effects throughout the community, and the loss of her still feels unfathomable to all who knew and loved her best. We miss her every minute of every day.”
A Kansas City man has pleaded guilty to two felony charges in connection with a fatal shooting at First Fridays in August 2019.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said that Deon’te Copkney, 20, recently pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action charges.
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On Aug. 3, 2019, Erin Langhofer, 25, was standing at the food trucks near 18th and Main streets during the First Fridays event, when she was struck by a bullet from a nearby disturbance.
The Kansas City Police Department said Copkney was involved in a fistfight near 18th and Walnut streets before the incident escalated into gun violence.
Copkney is scheduled to be sentenced by a Jackson County judge on July 23.
Langhofer’s family released a statement:
“Although the defendant has pleaded guilty, for us it is a hollow victory and an outcome in which no one ‘wins.’ As a family, we have tried to stand for and represent Erin through this legal process, and we believe this is the best possible resolution at this time. We have the utmost respect for the prosecutor’s office, which has kept us well informed during this difficult process. Erin’s death continues to have ripple effects throughout the community, and the loss of her still feels unfathomable to all who knew and loved her best. We miss her every minute of every day.”