By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-13 21:28:44 | Updated at 2026-08-14 01:00:49
7 hours ago
A Missouri grandmother was shot dead over the weekend while protecting children at a family barbecue, according to her mourning family.
Alexis Rayford, 47, was killed at a home in eastern Kansas City on Sunday evening, according to a press release shared with the Daily Mail by the Kansas City Missouri Police Department.
Officers arrived to the home at about 10.30pm and discovered Rayford lying in a grassy area of the house with gunshot wounds, police said.
They rendered emergency aid to the grandmother until medical crews arrived and transported her to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Homicide detectives conducted an investigation at the scene, interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence, but no arrests have been made as of Thursday morning, police said.
It remains unclear what events led up to the shooting, and whether it was intentional or an accident.
The Kansas City Missouri Police Department did not provide any additional details when the Daily Mail reached out for more information.
A GoFundMe organized on Monday by Rayford's daughter, Kyeisha Rayford, revealed that the shooting victim was a mother of two daughters and the grandmother of a young boy.
Alexis Rayford, 47, was fatally shot outside a Kansas City, Missouri, home on Sunday evening during a family barbecue
Rayford was protecting children at the barbecue when she was shot, her family said. She was a mother of two and a grandmother to a young boy
It further revealed that Alexis was killed 'while protecting children at a family barbecue.' It appears that Kyeisha was referencing the shooting when she said her mom was protecting the children.
The fundraiser was set up to help the grandmother's family cover the cost of her funeral expenses.
'We are heartbroken and still trying to process this devastating loss,' Kyeisha wrote on the GoFundMe page.
The daughter described Alexis as 'beloved' and 'a loving mother of two daughters and proud grandmother.'
Police said that the grandmother's death remains under investigation by homicide detectives.
Alexis's murder was the 79th homicide in Kansas City this year, according to data tracked by the Kansas City Star, which includes fatal police shootings.
The death toll was brought up to 80 on Monday with the killing of Derrick McDonald, 53, who was discovered with gunshot wounds on the steps of a house by officers shortly before 10.30pm and later died in the hospital.
Rayford was shot outside a house on this block before she died in a hospital. No arrests have been made as of Thursday afternoon
Around this time last year, there were 102 homicides in Kansas City, according to the Kansas City Star's data.
The deadliest year on record for the city was 2023, when there were a total of 240 homicides in the Kansas City Metro area, the Star reported.
That number dropped to 190 in 2024, and again to 183 in 2025. It appears that this year the number of homicides is on track to decrease once again.
According to a July 23 report by the Council on Criminal Justice, nationwide homicide rates in large American cities were down 18 percent from the same period in 2025, and they were down 51 percent since the most recent peak in 2022.
