City of Wichita: Home where deadly shooting happened not licensed as Airbnb

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - New information comes to light about a shooting that happened early Sunday morning in east Wichita, killing one and injuring three. Twenty-year-old Elijah Davis died from his injuries in the shooting that reportedly happened at an Airbnb in Wichita’s Crown Heights neighborhood. The city now says the home where the shooting happened was not licensed to be rented out as an Airbnb.

Many in the neighborhood are still shaken up by what happened Sunday. They said their neighborhood is quiet and safe. Some neighbors had no idea the home was being rented out as an Airbnb. Others didn’t think it was a big deal. Candles and flowers on the street corner now serve as a reminder of what happened.

Adrienne Timler said her five children slept through the chaos in the neighborhood early Sunday morning. Multiple people were shot during a party at a home at Second and Battin.

“The front yard behind me, there were just dozens of people running around,” she said. “Then, I suddenly saw a guy with a gun and I saw the shots being fired.”

She said the home’s owners had been renovating the house with plans to make it into an Airbnb, but according to the City of Wichita, that’s now allowed in that neighborhood. The city said properties that are rented for less than a week are considered hotels and motels by the unified zoning code. Those are only allowed in seven districts. The house on Battin where the shooting happened is a single-family zone, so a hotel, motel or rental for less than seven days there is a violation unless it has a conditional-use permit.

“After what we saw, it’s be hard not to worry every time someone’s renting this,” Timler said.

She said police were called to the house once before. Now, her family is looking into buying extra home security and cameras and hopes something can be done to stop further violence in the neighborhood.

The city said it will send a violation notice to the home’s owners, telling them they cannot rent out the house as an Airbnb anymore. If they don’t comply, the city said it will take them to court.