In the early morning hours of a Sunday in May 2021, 17-year-old Lantz Stephenson Jr. called 911 from Grandview, Missouri, saying he was at Meadowmere Park armed and suicidal and that he wanted to confront police. Officers from the Grandview Police Department located him at the park and, from a distance, saw him moving toward them while holding what appeared to be a handgun. Two officers who had crisis intervention training fired their service weapons; Lantz was struck, taken to a local hospital, and later died. No officers were injured.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol investigation determined the weapon Lantz carried was a Glock 19 BB gun — a realistic replica that did not have the orange tip that often identifies toy or air guns. In January 2022 the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office announced it would not file criminal charges against the two officers involved.

If anyone knew Lantz, his routines, or what led to that May morning at Meadowmere Park, can you share information that might help explain what happened?