Authorities search along Interstate 49 for evidence in drive-by shooting

Cass County authorities investigating a holiday weekend highway shooting closed one lane of Interstate 49 on Tuesday afternoon as they searched for evidence.

The shooting about 12:30 a.m. Monday left a Raymore man and his young daughter wounded. His wife and another child also were in the car.

The 32-year-old man and the 2-year-old girl were recovering in a hospital. The man had surgery, and both were in stable condition Tuesday, said Maj. Jeff Weber of the Cass County Sheriff’s Department.

Investigators found some shell casings Monday but had to stop searching in the evening because of darkness and rain.

For about an hour and a half Tuesday afternoon, the Missouri Department of Transportation closed one of the two northbound lanes of I-49 just south of the North Cass Parkway interchange between Peculiar and Belton. The search was finished before 5 p.m.

The family on Tuesday was able to provide more details about the suspect vehicle, authorities said. Police are looking for an early-to-mid-2000s, four-door, black Ford Focus.

Multiple gunshots were fired into the victims’ vehicle, authorities said. The family has told investigators that the attack was unprovoked.

The family had been to a Labor Day weekend gathering and was going home about 12:30 a.m. Monday when the shooting occurred. The victims have not been identified.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Cass County Sheriff’s Department at 816-380-5200.

This story was originally published September 8, 2015 at 4:22 PM.