Olathe police investigate double homicide after two people found shot in vehicle
Olathe police are investigating a double homicide after a man and a woman were found shot inside a vehicle early Saturday.
Officers were called on a report of gunshots shortly before 1:30 a.m. to the 1000 block of East Fredrickson Drive.
They discovered two people inside of a vehicle near the intersection of East Cedar and South Sunset streets with apparent gunshot wounds, Sgt. Joel Yeldell, a spokesman for the Olathe Police Department, said in a news release. They were pronounced dead at the scene. One victim was a 42-year-old Hispanic man and the other was a 45-year-old Hispanic woman, Yeldell said. Their names have not yet been released.
The homicides were Olathe’s first of 2021. Olathe saw two killings in 2020, according to data maintained by The Star.
George Blake lives in a house a few dozen yards from where Saturday’s homicide took place. He said he heard about 10 gunshots around 1 a.m. He’s lived in the neighborhood for three years and has never heard a shooting there.
“I honestly didn’t know what was going on,” said Blake, 62. “I just stayed in bed and I’m just thankful a bullet didn’t go through the wall.”
Across the street, Maria Valenzuela heard popping noises.
Ridgeview Elementary School is about a block away from the location of the shooting. Valenzuela, 20, said she wouldn’t feel safe sending her daughter to the school in the next few days.
As she spoke Saturday morning, the car the victims were found in, a black four-door sedan, was still at the scene. A tow truck came by a few minutes later and took it away.
The suspects were described as four or five males who were in a dark gray pickup truck.
Anyone with information may call the Olathe Police Department at 913-971-6363 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
This story was originally published November 20, 2021 at 8:04 AM.
