Death investigation underway after person found inside burned vehicle in Kansas City

Kansas City police are investigating a non-fatal shooting and another death after a body was found inside a burned vehicle Thursday morning.

Officers were called to a shooting just before 5 a.m. Thursday in the 8500 block of Euclid Avenue, Capt. Leslie Foreman, a spokeswoman with the Kansas City Police Department, told media gathered near the scene.

There, police found a victim who had been shot inside a home, Foreman said. The victim was taken to the hospital where they were last said to be in stable condition.

About an hour later, around 6 a.m., firefighters found a body inside a vehicle that was on fire about a mile and a half away, near East 81st Street & Indiana Avenue.

Police are investigating whether the two incidents were connected, Foreman said.

The body found inside the vehicle is now under a death investigation, she said.

Police initially reported the non-fatal shooting as a homicide, later reporting the death investigation and clarifying the person shot is in stable condition.

The night before, police were called to two separate fatal shooting scenes.

Officers were called to the area of East 81st Street & Indiana Avenue where the investigation is now underway, Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman with the Kansas City Police Department, said in an email at about 7:15 a.m. Thursday.

Officers were also dispatched to a fatal shooting just before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday in a business parking lot in the 4200 block of Blue Parkway, Becchina said.

About 30 minutes later, police responded to a call of shots fired in the 11100 block of Hillcrest Road, Becchina said. When officers arrived they located a male victim in the street unresponsive. He was declared dead at the scene.

The killing on Hillcrest marks the 55th homicide in Kansas City this year. Kansas City ended last year with 182 homicides, the most in the city’s history in a single year, according to data maintained by The Star.

Gun violence will be the subject of a new, statewide journalism project The Star is undertaking in Missouri this year in partnership with the national service program Report for America and sponsored in part by Missouri Foundation for Health. As part of this project, The Star will seek the community’s help.

To contribute, visit Report for America online at reportforamerica.org.