On the late afternoon of February 23, 2025, a SWAT team entered a home on the 9700 block of E. Winner Road in Independence, Missouri, after a shooting call reporting injured people and an armed person refusing to come out. Officers found two men dead inside the residence: 41-year-old Steven Ray Johnson of Excelsior Springs and 35-year-old Ernest Naler of Kansas City.

Johnson, born February 14, 1984, was described by those who knew him as a free spirit who lived by the motto Live for today, don’t worry about tomorrow. He was the father of William Noah and Shealynn Ray and is survived by parents Les and Wanita Johnson, a brother and a sister. A third man at the scene was taken into custody and treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, then later released as the investigation proceeded.

No charges have been filed and the Independence Police Department says the investigation is active but has not released further details. If anyone knew Steven Johnson, Ernest Naler, or saw activity in that neighborhood on February 23, please share what was seen or heard with investigators.