Authorities search for explosives in Belton residence tied to Lenexa murder-suicide
Police executed a search warrant on Tuesday afternoon in suburban Belton based on the belief that explosive materials may be located inside a residence there related to a murder-suicide investigation.
The Lenexa Police Department said in a statement that investigators had received information leading them to believe that the materials may have been inside a home in the 8200 block of East 170th Street.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the Kansas City Missouri Bomb and Arson Squad was requested to assist in ensuring the residence was safe for entry,” Lenexa police said in the statement.
Detectives were able to enter the home after it was cleared by the bomb squad, police said.
The investigation stems from a triple fatal shooting that unfolded early Sunday in Lenexa.
Police have said John M. Williamson, 20, and Sara M. Beck, 22, were fatally shot by 37-year-old Dustin J. Johnson inside a Lenexa house in the 8400 block of Laurelwood Street. Johnson then allegedly turned the gun on himself.
Details surrounding the events that led up to the shooting remain unclear. But police have said Williamson, a resident of the Lenexa home, was in a dating relationship with Beck and that Johnson, a Belton resident, was an ex-boyfriend of Beck.
Police did not disclose Tuesday night whether anything pertinent to the investigation was discovered during the execution of the search warrant in Belton. But a spokesman for the Kansas City Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said the federal agency, along with the Olathe Bomb Squad, had assisted with the safe removal of explosives discovered inside a vehicle outside of the Lenexa house on Monday.
Belton police blocked off traffic on roads surrounding the operation near 170th Street and Bel Ray Boulevard on Tuesday afternoon until the evening hours. The public was asked to remain clear of the area as investigators were on scene.
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 8:02 PM.
