K.C. man pleads guilty to shooting teen boy because he was gay

A Kansas City man admitted to shooting a gay teenager eight times specifically because of the boy’s sexual orientation.

Malachi Robinson, 26, pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal hate crime, the Justice Department announced.

The boy, identified only as M.S., and Robinson were at a Kansas City Public Library on May 29, 2019, when the boy approached Robinson and friended him on Facebook, according to plea agreement documents obtained by BuzzFeed News.

After the boy asked if Robinson was interested in sex in the library bathroom, Robinson told the boy, “I’m not really gay.” Still, Robinson said he was willing to receive oral sex from the boy in exchange for $5, court docs said.

Robinson followed the boy out of the library and into a nearby wooded area. At the time, Robinson was texting his then-girlfriend, “Might shoot this boy if he try some gay s—.”

However, when they got to the woods, the boy turned to leave before any money was exchanged and any sex act was performed. Still, Robinson pulled out a 9-mm. handgun and shot him eight times: once in the butt, three times in the chest, three times in the right arm and once in the right hand.

Robinson then sprinted away from the scene and was spotted by two maintenance workers at his apartment complex. The maintenance workers heard the gunshots and saw Robinson carrying the gun.

In the days following the shooting, Robinson clearly panicked and Googled, “how to know if the police are looking for you,” “when will police arrest you after a murder,” “how to get away with murder in real life” and “Police investigate shooting in Swope Park.” He also told a friend, “(M.S.) was being gay af and following me.”

The boy survived. He spent two weeks recovering in a hospital and “has had to undergo additional and ongoing treatment.”

Federal authorities filed the hate crime charges against Robinson in 2021. He could face up to life in prison, but his sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.

“Violence against others, motivated by hatred of their sexual orientation, is unacceptable,” said U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. “Such callous disregard for the life of a teenage victim, gravely wounded in a failed murder attempt, must be challenged by a commitment to protect the civil rights of all our citizens.”