Loved ones mourn man killed by suspected KC highway shooter: ‘He took a life’
Jeremy Keenan found joy in motorcycles, in soccer, in music, in his dogs, in making memories with those he loved. He owned his own company. He was passionate about the Kansas City Chiefs. He had a sense of style and loved following a whim.
All that was cut short earlier this month in crash and shooting along a Kansas City roadway. Loved ones were left to grapple with Keenan’s death while authorities scrambled for days trying to find the alleged shooter.
Police found Keenan, 43, in a wrecked vehicle at the intersection of Truman Road and Bennington Avenue in Kansas City on Tuesday, June 16, and medical personnel discovered he had been shot. He died from his injuries.
Keenan’s death was linked to a series of shootings along Kansas City roadways on June 16 said to have been committed by one man, Oscar Sanchez-Munoz. Four others were injured in the shootings.
A search for Sanchez-Munoz lingered, and Keenan’s loved ones waited for answers until police discovered Wednesday that the body of the suspected shooter had been buried in his Independence home for days.
“I just want people to remember that it’s not just about this guy that’s just shooting random people,” said Brandy Suhr, a longtime friend of Keenan’s from Norfolk, Nebraska, where Keenan had roots. “He took a life of somebody that meant a lot to people. It’s just unreal how quick someone can be taken from you, and you just don’t know.”
Wrote family members in Keenan’s obituary: “Those who knew Jeremy will remember his kindness, loyalty, witty sense of humor, and willingness to lend a hand. His absence leaves a tremendous void, but his memory will live on through the many lives he touched.”
Suhr recalled the rap music Keenan and her husband made together, Keenan’s determined personality, his generous spirit, his love for his dog, Karma, who she said is now lost without him.
“She’s very confused, waiting for her dad to walk back through that door,” she said.
Family members remembered how Keenan had played football, soccer and baseball — and the drums in the marching band in high school — and how his love of music stuck with him throughout his life. He had an entrepreneurial spirit and built his own business, Drastic Home Improvements, they said.
“More than anything, Jeremy will be remembered for his generous heart,” Keenan’s obituary said. “He was the kind of person who showed up when someone needed help, often before being asked. He gave freely of his time, energy, and talents, never expecting anything in return. Knowing he had made a difference was all the reward he needed.”
Suhr described the roller coaster of emotions she experienced over the last few days after learning of Keenan’s death. Police said they had cornered Sanchez-Munoz in his home in Independence, but they hadn’t found him. Then, the man was supposedly on the run for days. Then, finally, his body was found back in the home.
“First, it was shock, and then sadness, and then the anger part comes about, knowing that someone could do this,” Suhr said.
“And then it was bitter, because how could they — we thought — let him get away, and then just the anxiety of it all, too. Where could this guy be at? What’s coming next? What’s going to happen?
“Now, the whole relief part of it, knowing that they did find him, and we can start the whole healing process.”
