KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A teen shot and killed Sunday night is the fifth homicide of 2021. Police say the victim, 16-year-old Jayson Ugwuh Jr., is the brother of a child shot and killed in 2016.

The Ugwuh family is in mourning after another tragic loss. 

Sunday around 7:30 p.m., KCPD said Ugwuh was shot near Paloma and Topping avenues. His family said they believe he was shot while he was with two other teens walking to a home from the BP gas station at 40 Highway and Topping Avenue. His friends were able to get him back to the house where they called police.

“They located a crime scene in the street and were able to do a little investigation and locked the victim inside a residence nearby where he was suffering critical injuries,” Capt. David Jackson said.

The 16-year-old’s family said he has struggled since his brother died in his arms about five years ago. Nine-year-old Jayden Ugwuh and 8-year-old Montell Ross were shot from the street while they were inside Ugwuh’s home. The children’s murders have never been solved.

In 2016, FOX4 spoke with Jayson and his father about the shooting. 

“He didn’t even cry. He just got hit and ran and laid up under his big brother like he knew exactly where to go for comfort,” Ugwuh Sr. said.

Jayson told FOX4 he realized his brother was shot and watched him lose his life quickly.

“I’ve got to deal with that and still raise them, but what can I say to him because he actually held him? He held his cold body. You know what I’m saying? How do I teach my son to cope with that when I can barely cope with it?” Ugwuh Sr. said.

His family said Jayson Jr. loved basketball and rapping, but fell victim to the cruel city. Jackson said violent crime is a plague in Kansas City and the community needs to work together to stop it.

“It’s not just the victim. It’s not just their family. It’s the neighborhood. It goes out into the schools. Violent crime begets violent crime, and we look at risks for retaliation in some of these circumstances. It builds on itself, and we’ve got to stop this,” Jackson said.

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Ugwuh’s aunt said the family is not ready to speak publicly about their loss at this time. But she said in a statement this is her sister’s second child she’s lost to gun violence, and now as a family they have to endure this pain all over again.

Jayden and Montel’s homicides were never solved. The family asks if you have any information on what happened in that shooting or last weekend’s shooting to please call Crime Stoppers at 816-474-8477 to help their family find answers. All tips are anonymous.