Key Takeaways
- Sibley was doing a friend’s hair when she was shot during a Kansas City sleepover.
- Police say the shooter, Bailey Lewis, was targeting someone else over a personal dispute.
- Lewis is charged with murder and remains in custody on a $400,000 bond.
Traelynn Sibley, a 16-year-old girl, was fatally shot during a Kansas City sleepover when a woman allegedly opened fire on a home, aiming at someone else.
According to court documents obtained by Law&Crime, Sibley was at a house on Norton Avenue on Saturday (Aug. 9) while doing a friend’s hair at a vanity when 21-year-old Bailey Lewis drove by and opened fire. The shots were reportedly aimed at Lewis’ former friend, but one bullet struck Sibley in the throat.
Just days away from starting her junior year of high school, she ran to the bathroom, collapsed, and was later pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.
“The general spacing of the casings seemed to indicate the person(s) firing the shots were in motion southbound … as they were firing,” per a probable cause affidavit from Kansas City Police Detective David Adair, cited by Law&Crime.
“The home itself and a red Mazda in the driveway were struck numerous times by gunfire,” the affidavit noted. “The home had bullet damage/fragments inside and outside and a large amount of apparent blood leading from the living room to the bathroom area.”
Witnesses reportedly recalled the sound of gunfire and saw bullets riddling the front door and the living room’s wall and window.
“They described a normal night with two of the females fixing each other’s hair at a vanity near the front door of the structure, one female was in [the] back bedroom while two adult males were playing video games in the living room,” per the affidavit. According to the documents, per Law&Crime, a toddler was also inside the home.
Suspect tied to apartment complex shooting minutes before killing teen
Detectives connected Lewis to the shooting through surveillance footage showing her 2025 Hyundai Elantra driving to and from the scene.
The affidavit states Lewis was angry with her intended target, whom she hadn’t spoken to in months, over claims the woman and a male friend had stolen from her — an accusation the woman denied.
A witness also said the intended target was upset with Lewis for allegedly allowing her to be “jumped” at a gas station months earlier in a separate incident.
Lewis — also linked to another shooting allegedly 15 minutes before Sibley was shot — is at the Jackson County Detention Center on charges of murder, unlawful use of a weapon and accessory to armed criminal action. Her bond has been set at $400,000.
As the community mourns the loss of Sibley, the investigation continues into what led to the deadly shooting. REVOLT will provide updates as more details emerge.