Family of victim grieves following fatal Jefferson City shooting over the weekend
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) -
Police have identified the man shot and killed over the weekend in Jefferson City.
The department said 27-year-old Michael A. Burns died in a Saturday afternoon shooting at Broadway Street and Atchison Street. Officers were called to the area because of the shooting at 12:01 p.m.
Lt. David Williams said officers found Burns suffering from a gunshot wound. First responders tried to revive him, but could not, Williams said. One person was taken into custody at the time.
A news release today did not name the person taken into custody. It stated he is a 38-year-old Jefferson City resident. Williams said he provided a statement "that is consistent with witness versions" of what happened.
Neighbors told ABC 17 News on Sunday that they wanted to know more about what led up to and caused the shooting. Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson told ABC 17 News the case was still under investigation.
Burns was a rapper and prominent TikTok user who went by the name Yung Hashtag, with more than 508,000 followers on the platform and over 12.1 million likes.
Burns is survived by his four brothers, three sisters, his mother and his 16-month-old son. His mother, Kaya Staten, said their "lives will never be the same without him."
Staten says her family referred to Burns as the "golden child," because he was the first son and grandchild of the family, and "because he was perfect."
"He took his football team to state, he was an honor student all four years of high school," Staten said.
Burns attended college at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, before transferring to Lincoln University in Jefferson City according to Staten.
"My kids are really taking this hard," Staten said. "There's like, I guess no handbook to tell you how to grieve, there's nothing that... It's just a call you don't even expect to get as a parent."
"I feel empty. I feel heartbroken," Burns' grandmother Annett Dugger said. "My soul feels crushed."
Dugger said she wishes gun violence would end.
"You often hear that hurt people hurt people. I'm not familiar with the person that did this to Michael, but I would like to ask, beg and plead that they put down the guns, stop the violence, stop the crime," she said. "It, I mean, you hurt so many people when you take a life."
"When you pull a gun and you take somebody's life you didn't just take Yung Hashtag's, you took my son," Staten said. "You took a brother. You took a grandson. You took somebody who was so loved outside of social media."
TikTok users are sharing support on the platform, and have been reaching out to the family. Staten and Dugger said they are grateful for all of the support pouring in online and in person.
"I've been, I'm just overwhelmed with it all and like this is what keeps me going," Staten said. "I'm just seeing like how many people he inspired, and how many lives he touches and how many people he motivated... He was so loved, and he'll never be here to know that."
