Cyclist shot and killed in KC for fun

[vladamir]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man shot to death while riding his bike home from work early Sunday morning was apparently killed for fun, court documents reveal.

KC is getting really scary as of late folks. Lots of random and road rage type violence being done to cyclists lately. It's like the wind changed or something. Scary and strange. I feel horrible for this man and his family. The origional reports were mostly like this:

From the 11/22/05 KC Star:


Bicyclist identified as Robert Osborn


Police seek leads in homicide

By KEVIN HOFFMANN

The Kansas City Star


Robert W. Osborn loved the outdoors and thought nothing of leaving the car in the garage and biking nearly four miles to work.

Along the tree-lined, mostly residential route, he would pass a golf course, a small church and a couple of vacant fields.

But any tranquillity found there early Sunday was shattered when someone shot and killed Osborn.

Sometime after 5 a.m., Osborn left his job at the Hy-Vee grocery at Noland Road and U.S. 40 in Independence where he worked as a stocker. He had pedaled more than two miles and was more than halfway home.

A co-worker, taking the same route, spotted Osborn lying next to his bike in front of Blue Vue shopping center at East 47th Street and Blue Ridge Boulevard. An off-duty paramedic also stopped and tried to revive the 43-year-old Kansas City man. Osborn was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police continued to work the case Monday, but detectives had uncovered few clues.

Family members struggled to comprehend the death, saying that Osborn had no enemies.

“That’s what’s so senseless,” said Ron Osborn, a brother. “A guy riding his bike home from work just gets gunned down.”

Ron Osborn lives outside Dallas and drove up after hearing the news Sunday.

He joined three other brothers, their father and other family and friends in the quiet neighborhood where Robert Osborn lived.

As they discussed the death and tried to make funeral arrangements, detectives and a crime-scene technician searched the white bungalow where Robert lived alone.

Osborn grew up in the neighborhood and graduated from Raytown High School, where he participated on the swim team, the brother said. But one of his favorite hobbies took him far away.

He was deeply interested in Egypt, and about five years ago he traveled there to see the Great Pyramid.

“That was one of his lifelong dreams, to do that,” Ron Osborn said.

Robert Osborn also had a pilot’s license and took many family trips to Table Rock Lake while growing up, Ron Osborn said.

“The thing I liked about him is he was always laughing and tried to make you laugh,” the brother said.

A day after the shooting, a memorial stood at the site where Osborn died.

Two bouquets of roses were pinned to a utility pole along with a note reading, “In loving memory of Robert, God bless your family.”

Below that, someone had addressed a letter to Robert with a small, stuffed animal on top.

Kansas City police Sgt. Dave Bernard said detectives working the case, Kansas City’s 114th homicide in 2005, had had no leads, but he said he thinks the co-worker and paramedic came upon the scene shortly after the shooting.

Police and family members urged anyone with information about the slaying to call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS (474-8744).

And ended with whats above and this taken from the report linked (there is video also on that news page):

Osborn was on his way home from work at an Independence grocery store when he was shot near 47th Street and Blue Ridge Boulevard.

According to court documents, Willis told detectives that he was with another man and that his friend said he was bored and wanted to kill someone.


The two drove around the area of Highway 40 and Noland Road. About 5:15 a.m., the pair saw a woman driving by herself and Willis told investigators that he and his friend came up with a plan to rob and kill her, but then they saw Osborn riding his bike near 47th Street and Norfleet.

Willis said they stopped the car on the side of the road and fired one shot at Osborn with a 12-gauge shotgun. The shot missed Osborn. Willis told detectives that they drove a little bit further, stopped and his friend again fired at Osborn, but missed him.

The pair then drove ahead of Osborn and parked the car behind a building. Willis said his friend got out and stood behind a tree and when Osborn passed, the man opened fire, hitting Osborn in the back of the head.

Willis said his friend went up to Osborn and kicked him with his foot.

I'm at a loss for words.

[BWANA]

Take heed you peaceful, unarmed cyclists.
No one should be given the opportunity to “miss” you twice.

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone;
but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.
Malcom X

[Clark Kent]

Originally Posted by BWANA

Take heed you peaceful, unarmed cyclists.
No one should be given the opportunity to “miss” you twice.

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone;
but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.
Malcom X

WORD...


always travel heavy.

[dangerousdave]

....and that should go double for all us parents out there!!!!

[aluminiumsucks]

Man, we should have never come down out of the trees... or maybe we haven't totally yet.
It seems like you read a story like this every couple of years. I think it was in the twin cities last time.

[tryandgetme]

I'm almost scared to come visit you guys down there. random shooting attacks just dont happen here..if you get shot, someone wanted to shoot you for some reason (drug deals, gang wars, whatever), not just because they had a gun and you were on the road with them...

[Built-1969]

This is the sort of shit that makes me glad to live in a country with realy stricked gun laws.
Respect

[El Kabong]

Originally Posted by Built-1969

This is the sort of shit that makes me glad to live in a country with realy stricked gun laws.
Respect

Australia has banned shotguns? Wow, that is strict!

Dave

[Built-1969]

Basicly if you don't have a realy good reason for having a gun you can't have one end of story. So yer pritty much anyone living in a suburban area has no use for a gun so they can't have one. I don't know one person who has a gun I bet you can't say that in the US.

[phlatlander]

Australia's one huge penal settlement. Of course you don't give guns to a bunch of prisoners!

[Happy Turtle]

If I divide the number of people I know by the number of guns owned, it may be more than a piece a person.

[davkatreb]

Originally Posted by Built-1969

a realy good reason for having a gun

Best reason in the world. It is a RIGHT* in this country. But I am a citizen and you are a mere subject. I wouldn't expect you to understand.

*Although this right, enumerated in the Second Amendment to our Constitution, is under constant attack by enemies of freedom, both foreign and domestic.

[model3224]

i fail to see how this guy's life would've been saved if he was carrying a gun as well.

[BWANA]

I guess you skipped over the part where the predator missed him the first two times. If you take a shot at me and miss, your window of opportunity has closed. I do what is necessary to put you down. You don’t get to kill me or someone’s child or any other person. Your ignorant life of senseless crime has ended. It is that simple. If you are unarmed, you just have to pray he keeps missing until he runs out of ammo or he goes away to kill some other victim for the fun of it. Or you can pray for some other person (who in all probability will need to be armed) to be standing by to rescue you. Free men are responsible for their own safety.

PEACE and FREEDOM (provided by superior firepower)

[steelrollin']

I'm missing something somewhere. Second and third shots? WTF? And with a shotgun? But thats not the scary part- because they were bored? WTF??????

So F@#$%K WRONG!!!!!!

And his poor family, accidents are horrible but when it was some A$$ just getting his rocks off. No there is some one rove and cheney can torture and I won't say a word. Hell I'll heat up the irons for them.