Suspect in Kansas City highway shootings found dead in Independence home
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KQTV) -- The Kansas City Police Department said the suspect allegedly involved in shootings along Interstate 70 and 670 last week was found dead inside an Independence home Wednesday afternoon.
Detectives leading the search were contacted by a family member of Oscar Sanchez-Munoz, 22, who advised them that they were at a house located at 731 S. Brookside Ave.
The house, which was subject to a fire overnight from Tuesday, June 16, to Wednesday, June 17, had multiple connections to the suspect in the shootings.
According to a news release from KCPD, family members had been at the house several times over the last few days, completing damage recovery and rehabilitation on the home.
Family members were searching through extensive piles of debris and noticed the smell of decomposition in the basement. They dug out a portion of the clutter, moved several items aside that had been flooded while putting out a fire, and observed a human body.
Detectives and crime scene personnel responded to the location and continued the search under the debris, where they confirmed the presence of a deceased person.
The deceased person was observed to be wearing clothing that matched what Sanchez-Munoz was seen wearing the night of the shootings.
KCPD said the investigation is still ongoing; however, detectives believe the deceased person is Sanchez-Munoz. The Medical Examiner will make a confirmed ID, as well as the cause and manner of death.
The highway shootings, which began on Tuesday, June 16, caused various injuries to a total of five victims, one teen and three adults.
KCPD was initially dispatched to an injury accident at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Truman and Bennington, which triggered a homicide investigation.
Officers also contacted victims at I-670 and Wyoming, I-70 and Paseo, I-70 and Prospect and Truman and Hardesty.
The victims all indicated they were driving down the highway or roadway, eastbound, when one or more shots were fired into their vehicles.
The teen was listed in stable condition, two of the three adults had non-life-threatening injuries and one adult had life-threatening injuries.
Overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, a house fire broke out at an Independence home, where KCPD detectives worked with Fire Department personnel, as well as the Missouri State Fire Marshals, to examine what was left of the house.
While processing the scene at the house, investigators could not initially locate the subject; however, the vehicle believed to be involved in the shootings was located at the home.
