Two Kansas City Children Killed by Gunfire as Homicide Count Climbs

The shooting deaths of two Kansas City boys over the weekend doubled the number of juveniles fatally shot in the city in the past six months.

The Kansas City Star reports that the latest shootings happened early Saturday in the same place where two men were gunned down at a street party in 2013.

The deaths of the boys, ages 8 and 9, raised the city's 2016 homicide total to 67 — the highest number by this time of year in seven years. A 16-year-old girl who was shot at the home is expected to survive.

News of the shootings angered local leaders, including Mayor Sly James, who said he's tired of hearing about kids getting killed.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker called Saturday's killings "another senseless tragedy."