KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the early morning hours on Wednesday police arrested a suspicious person walking in the area of I-29 and NW 72nd Street in Kansas City Mo. The 34-year-old man is suspected of assaulting three people at a Motel 6 near I-29 and Barry Road. At the time of his arrest police discovered a weapon. Police said he matches the description of a suspect in a triple homicide that occurred in south Kansas City on Tuesday afternoon.
“We have not linked the two, but too close — proximity, time frames — for us to ignore the possibility they could be related,” Kansas City Police Captain Tye Grant said.
Grant said in the same area where officers arrested the man, officers also recovered a stolen Toyota SUV, located in the 7700 block of NW Prairie View Road. Police said the SUV was taken from the homicide scene where three people were shot and killed near 1 East Woodbridge Lane in Kansas City, Mo., which is just north of Blue Ridge Blvd. and east of Wornall Road, near the Blue Hills County Club.. Two others sustained critical injuries and were taken to the hospital.
RELATED: Families, neighbors shaken by violence in customarily quiet KC neighborhood
Sources said when police arrived to the homicide scene they initially located one person who had been shot outside a home on Woodbridge Road and then discovered two others outside another home. Sources said the neighbors who had approached the armed robbery suspect were shot at point-blank range. It is unclear at this time where the fourth and fifth victims were discovered, but police said there were multiple crime scenes. Police said one man and two women were killed.
Police said they worked quickly to secure the scene as the homicides occurred in an area not known for crime.
“We are very concerned, we want people to be safe, we want people to feel safe in their neighborhoods and that is why we worked so diligently to get out here and to make this scene secure and we want to locate this person that did this terrible act,” said Sergeant Kari Thompson with KCPD.
The search for the suspect in both the homicide and assaults caused safety concerns for nearby schools as well. Some Northland schools were placed on hold as police searched the area for the suspect. The district tweeted at about 7:15 p.m. that people were allowed to leave buildings, but the doors remained locked as a precaution.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is urged to call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS.
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