“We are very busy, but never too busy to, uh -- to look into any information that we get,” Detective Jonathan Cook of the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department told Dateline.
Cook is a detective on the 10-30 homicide squad, and is looking into the murder of 37-year-old father-of-two Antonio Shanklin.
At 5:46 a.m. on the morning of September 24, 2018, officers were dispatched to the 3800 block of Wabash Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. According to the detective, two people from that address called to report a shooting. “Once officers got there, they noticed a deceased male in the driveway who had suffered from apparent gunshot wounds,” Det. Cook said. “That male was later identified as Mr. Shanklin, Antonio Shanklin.”
“A homicide investigation ensued, and that is when the 10-30 homicide squad was notified and responded to the scene,” Cook said. The two callers from the home provided statements, but “they did not actually witness the shooting,” the detective said.
Cook told Dateline those two people had been inside the home with Antonio before he left. “They reported hearing six to seven gunshots, getting down on the ground to take cover, and then looking outside and seeing Mr. Shanklin in the driveway,” he said.
The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department learned Antonio did not reside at that address. “He was at a gathering at that house with several people who considered him a friend, and he seemed to be having a good time,” Det. Cook said. “He appeared to be well-liked by people.”
Officers canvassed the area, “which included knocking on doors and talking to people,” Cook told Dateline. “Either people did not hear anything, or people did and did not look outside.” Cook says the two people who were in the house with Antonio that day have been cooperative with the investigation. Authorities have not developed any persons of interest or suspects in the case.
According to Det. Cook, the department’s crime technicians recovered bullet casings from the scene. They were able to determine the gun used in the shooting was a 9mm. “Those casings were tested for DNA, but there was nothing -- nothing conclusive that was found on them,” he explained.
The department also recovered a security DVR system from the house. “It was examined by our forensic analyst, but the video was in poor quality,” Det. Cook said. The cameras were angled to face the front door and the interior, and not facing out from the house. “So, the video did not capture the shooting,” he said.
The authorities went through Antonio’s phone, too. But, the detective said, “there was no information in there that would lead to any suspicious activity or anything.”
It did not take long for the department to run out of leads. “We try our best to do everything that we can investigate, which includes, you know, having detailed briefings and putting our heads together and, with other detectives, seeing if there’s anything else that we can do,” Cook said. “We try to exhaust every resource we can.”
Those efforts have now been exhausted. “We’re really left hoping that the public will come forward with information,” Det. Cook said. “I think that is where we are in this case.”
Detective Cook emphasizes that his office has not forgotten about Antonio’s case. His case is listed on the Unsolved Homicides section of their website. “The case is still open,” he said. “We haven’t just, uh, swept it under a rug.”
Dateline attempted to contact Antonio’s family to speak with them about the case but was unable to get ahold of anyone.
Detective Cook urges anyone who knows anything about Antonio’s murder to come forward with that information. “Six years later, it is still open and we’re still looking to hold somebody accountable,” he said.
If you have any information about the Antonio Shanklin case, you can call the anonymous tip hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477) or you can call the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department directly at 816-234-5413. You can also submit a tip online, where the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers offers a reward of up to $25,000 for anonymous tips that lead to an arrest in a homicide investigation.
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