Independence man charged in deadly Midtown shooting outside apartment building
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A man accused of shooting and killing another man outside a Midtown apartment building on Wednesday faces second-degree murder among other felonies.
Jackson County prosecutors say 21-year-old suspect Eryn D. Holt killed 22-year-old Adrian Terry. In addition to second-degree murder, Holt also faces unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action.
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Court documents say separate sets of witnesses, including Kansas City firefighters who were in the area on an unrelated call, saw Holt and Terry engaged in what appeared to be an intense argument before Holt pulled out a gun.
Those witnesses said they saw Holt shoot Terry, sending the victim staggering into the building lobby. The firefighters began first aid before Terry was taken to a hospital. Despite efforts to save his life, he died less than an hour after the shooting.
Police say other witnesses helped responding officers track down Holt, who had walked away from the crime scene and hid behind a nearby building in an alleyway.
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Court documents say surveillance video showed the Holt and Terry walk past one another outside the building before Terry began to walk into the lobby. Holt was seen gesturing for Terry to come back to him, and eventually they began to walk toward each other.
The video shows their argument last about a minute before investigators say Holt shot Terry, who was about five feet from him.
In an interview with detectives, Holt denied knowing Terry and said their argument was preceded by an exchange of looks. He claimed that once their confrontation began, he pulled out a gun because he was threatened by something Terry said.
He followed up by saying he thought pulling out the gun would end their argument, but it didn’t, and at some point he lost sight of Terry’s left hand and thought he may be reaching for a weapon, at that point he fired his gun once, hitting Terry in the chest.
Holt is in the Jackson County Jail, prosecutors requested a $250,000 bond. No court dates are listed for him yet.
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