Story at a glance
- Aviva Okeson-Haberman, 24, was killed by a stray bullet in her apartment on Friday in Kansas City, Mo.
- Okeson-Haberman was a reporter who covered criminal justice, government and social issues.
- Her death comes amid an uptick in gun violence, following the city’s record-high homicide rate in 2020.
Aviva Okeson-Haberman, a 24-year-old reporter for KCUR, was killed by a stray bullet in her apartment on Friday in Kansas City, Mo.
Coworkers, concerned when she missed a meeting, went by her apartment and called the police to perform a welfare check. A bullet hole was seen on her apartment window, and she was found wounded, but still alive. Though she was initially on life support, she later died. Okeson-Haberman was inside her apartment when police believe a bullet fired from outside penetrated her window and struck her.
Her death is being investigated as a homicide.
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Still early in her career, Okeson-Haberman reported on Missouri government and politics for KCUR but had recently begun to transition to covering social issues and criminal justice for the Kansas News Service.
Both beats were of personal significance for Okeson-Haberman as she and her two younger sisters spent time in the foster care system. According to colleagues, her pursuit for change through journalism could have sparked change.
“I can’t overstate that this is a loss not just for her family and her friends, but it’s a loss for journalism,” said Mark Horvit, a University of Missouri journalism professor who once worked with her. “And it’s a loss for the communities that her work was going to serve.”
KCUR reporter Aviva Okeson-Haberman has died after suffering a gunshot wound in her Kansas City apartment. She was 24.
In her nearly two years at @KCUR, she covered a host of issues — ranging from corruption to inequities in vaccine distribution.https://t.co/bbNzdqTFCB
— NPR (@NPR) April 26, 2021
Okeson-Haberman’s killing comes following Kansas City’s record-high homicides in 2020. Homicides were up 28 percent last year in the city, and of the 176 homicides, 161 were due to gun violence. The KCPD homicide clearance rate also rose from 55 percent to 72 percent.
“There’s no sugar coating it. It was a very violent year. This is absolutely the highest number of homicides we’ve ever had,“ said Kansas City Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jake Becchina.
Gun violence in the city, where 16.1 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, was already trending upward in recent years, and experts have posited that Missouri’s relaxed gun laws are a major cause, with the latest surge possibly being exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Those who fall victim to gun violence in the city are largely people of color. In 2020, a significant majority of victims were Black men, making up 61 percent of Kansas City’s homicide victims.
KCPD spokeswoman Donna Drake said the violence is “inexcusable.”
“There is no reason for this,” she said. “People should be able to come out and enjoy their evening and not have it end with someone losing their life in senseless gun violence.”
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