Suspect in KC homicide kills self at Centerville Walmart, police say
May 22—CENTERVILLE — A Missouri man suspected of a Kansas City area homicide died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after authorities had tracked him to Centerville and attempted to apprehend him.
The Appanoose County Sheriff's Office said they were notified shortly after midnight that a suspect from a homicide in the Kansas City metro area had been tracked to Centerville. Local police located a black 2010 Jeep Patriot parked in the parking lot of the Centerville Walmart. Authorities surveilled the vehicle and its occupant while contacting the Iowa State Patrol Tactical Team for assistance in apprehending the suspect.
At approximately 2:30 a.m., authorities attempted to make contact with the suspect. During the attempted apprehension, the suspect refused to surrender and eventually officers heard a single shot from inside the vehicle. Officers made a tactical entry and located the suspect with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Emergency responders attempted life-saving techniques on the individual and transported him to the MercyOne Centerville Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
The Kansas City Police Department identified the man as 26-year-old Christian Crail, of St. Joseph, Missouri. His body has been transported to the Iowa State Medical Examiner's Office in Ankeny for autopsy.
Kansas City-area police say Crail was suspected in two shootings. The latest was on May 14, when police say he shot a Doordash driver in the head in Kansas City's Northland. Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd called the shooting random. An intense manhunt followed, ending in Centerville, the prosecutor told the Kansas City Star newspaper. The same prosecutor said Crail was charged with second-degree assault in 2021 after shooting a woman in Olathe, Kansas. The prosecutor told the newspaper that the woman, who survived, said that Crail had cut her off in traffic and shot her after she responded with a profane hand gesture.
