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Paul Beasley Jr.

Age : 24

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 08/08/2025

Location : 8301 State Avenue

City : Kansas City

County : Wyandotte

State : Kansas

Agency : Kansas City Kansas Police Department, Kansas Bureau of Investigation

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during arrest

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/08/2025, at approximately 2:49 p.m., 24-year-old Paul Beasley Jr. entered Crown Tobacco at 8301 State Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas. According to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Beasley allegedly pointed a firearm at the cashier but did not attempt to take money or merchandise. Instead, he instructed the cashier to call 911 and tell dispatchers that the store was being robbed. The store owner later confirmed that Beasley did not try to steal anything and appeared to have deliberately summoned police to the business.
Approximately one minute later, a Kansas City, Kansas Police Department officer entered the store. The KBI alleged that the officer saw Beasley holding a firearm and retreated outside. Beasley followed the officer from the business to the parking lot, where additional KCKPD officers had arrived. Five officers then opened fire, striking Beasley. Officers provided medical aid until EMS transported him to a hospital, where he died.
The circumstances surrounding the encounter raised substantial questions about whether Beasley had intentionally created a confrontation with police during a mental health crisis. His family subsequently said he had been experiencing serious psychiatric problems before his death. His cousin, Asura Imen, said Beasley's problems began after he took what the family believed was a psychedelic drug that may have been adulterated while he was in Denver. Family members said he had subsequently been hospitalized multiple times for mental health problems but had not received adequate long-term treatment.
Beasley's family also disclosed that he had experienced a major personal trauma when his oldest child died in his arms from an previously undiagnosed heart defect. Relatives described Beasley as a father of two who cared for his family and said that his mental health had deteriorated before the police encounter. His unusual conduct at Crown Tobacco — allegedly displaying a gun while specifically ordering the cashier to summon police without attempting to steal anything — is consistent with the family's account that he was experiencing a severe mental health crisis immediately before his death.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation assumed responsibility for the independent investigation at approximately 3:10 p.m. KBI agents and its Crime Scene Response Team processed the scene and investigated the actions of the five KCKPD officers who fired. The KBI stated that its initial description was preliminary and based on early evidence and statements and specifically cautioned that it did not represent the final investigative findings. The completed investigation was to be submitted to the Wyandotte County District Attorney's Office for a determination concerning criminal charges.
The five Kansas City, Kansas police officers who fired at Beasley have not been publicly identified in the KBI release or the subsequent news reporting located for this update.Searches using Beasley's name, the Crown Tobacco address, the KBI investigation, subsequent prosecutor references and later reporting through August 2026 did not produce a reliable public identification of the five shooters.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://sunflowerstateradio.com/2025/08/08/officer-involved-shooting-in-kansas-city-2/
https://www.wibw.com/2025/08/08/shooting-involving-kansas-city-kansas-police-injures-1-person/