Police release name of 14-year-old boy killed in Olathe; teen suspect arrested
The 14-year-old boy fatally shot during a disturbance at an Olathe townhome early Thursday has been identified as Zavier Mendoza of Olathe, police said.
A boy, also 14 years old, was arrested Thursday morning, hours after Zavier was killed, police said.
The suspect was known to Mendoza, police said. Officers have contacted everyone involved in the disturbance, the Olathe Police Department said.
Police would not say what led to the arrest, other than to say they had been in contact with the suspect since early on in the investigation.
Police responded to the shooting about 2:15 a.m. in the 12500 block of South Constance Street. Arriving officers found that the victim had died from an apparent gunshot wound.
The suspect’s name has not been released.
Details about the disturbance preceding the deadly shooting were not available, said Sgt. Joel Yeldell, a police department spokesman.
“I don’t have that information yet, but what I can tell you is that it will be a piece of a bigger picture as investigators work the next couple days and weeks to discover the truth of what happened,” he said.
Police were in contact with the victim’s family overnight to help them deal with what they are going through, Yeldell said.
“It’s an unthinkable tragedy,” he said.
Police were asking residents in the area to report any criminal, suspicious or unusual activity that they saw overnight to police.
Anyone with information was asked to call the Olathe Police Department at (913) 971-6950 or TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
This story was originally published August 8, 2019 at 2:40 PM.
