A Simple Craigslist Meetup Turns Bad, This Girl's Life Will Never Be The Same

When 39-year-old Jake Brantner decided to take his daughter to a busy mall in Raytown, Missouri, he had no idea that it would his last day on Earth. Mr. Brantner had made the split-decision to bring his 1-year-old daughter with him to a Craigslist meet-up at the shopping center when the pair began to hear the sharp crack of gunfire while in the parking lot. In a horrifying turn of events, several bullets tore into Mr. Brantner, killing him at the scene.

The death of the man has rocked the small community to its core and Mr. Brantner has been hailed as a family man and budding entrepreneur. Naturally, Mr. Brantner’s daughter has been greatly disturbed by the incident and is believed to be under the care of one of Mr. Brantner’s friends. Another of the victim’s friends, Daniel Holdcroft told Fox 4 KC that the whole situation was “Just shocking and I feel really bad for this little girl and her family. I think it will be with her the rest of her life. It’s going to be, she is going to be traumatized the rest of her life.”

The young girl was discovered by a nearby witness to the crime. While the witness was unable to provide an accurate description of the shooting, they can describe the moment they found Mr. Brantner’s daughter, saying: “I asked her to unroll the window and she did. I asked if she was ok, she was, she was asking for her dad. I didn’t want to say anything about her dad because from where she was sitting I didn’t think she could see him laying there.”

It remains unclear what prompted the horrific attack and whether it was a targeted shooting or simply a matter of being in the ‘wrong place at the wrong tine’. It is likely that more information will continue to unfold during the police investigation.

Source: Fox 4 KC
Photo: KSHB