9-Year-Old Missouri Boy Died in Big Brother's Arms After Being Shot, Father Says
An 8-year-old cousin of the boy was also fatally shot, police said.
— -- A family is devastated after a 9-year-old boy and his 8-year-old cousin were recently shot and killed in a home in Kansas City, Missouri.
The 9-year-old, Jayden Ugwuh, and his 8-year-old cousin, Montell Ross, apparently awoke around 1:30 a.m. this past Saturday, Aug. 13, to a barrage of bullets, according to Jayden's father, Jayson Ugwuh Sr.
Jayden apparently snuggled up and died in his 12-year-old brother's arms after being shot, his father told local Kansas City station WDAF.
"Didn't even cry, just got hit and ran and laid up under his big brother," he said. "Like he knew exactly where to go for comfort, you know what I'm saying?"
The 12-year-old boy, Jayson Ugwuh Jr., had to hold his 9-year-old brother's "cold body," Jayson Ugwuh Sr. added. "How do I teach my son to cope with that when I can barely cope with it?"
Police are currently investigating the incident as a homicide and are "still trying to determine where the bullets even came from," according to Sgt. Kari Thompson, public information officer for the Kansas City Missouri Police Department.
"Our detectives have been working tirelessly to find out who did this," Thompson told ABC News today. "At this time we are pleading with the community to call us with any information or leads."
The police department added on Twitter that the 8-year-old and 9-year-old cousins had just "started their new school year last week."
"Now they're dead," the KCPD wrote in the tweet. "Innocent victims of senseless gun violence."
Reggie Banks, Jayson Ugwuh Sr.'s uncle, told ABC News today that he was handling media inquiries for the family and that Jayson Ugwuh Sr. was declining to talk to media today.
"We've been pretty much in the dark about what happened," Banks said. "We're not exactly sure who did this or why. It's just hard to believe."
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