Merriam Police say a man died following a Friday morning shooting in the construction area of the Merriam Grand Station project at the busy intersection of Shawnee Mission Parkway and Antioch Road.
In a news release, Police Chief Darren McLaughlin said officers were dispatched at about 8:15 a.m. to a call of a disturbance with shots fired at 8817 Shawnee Mission Parkway.
The address in the news release matches that of Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers. The construction area for the Merriam Grand Station is behind and just to the east of the restaurant.
“As officers responded to the scene on Shawnee Mission Parkway, another call was dispatched about an accident at the intersection of Johnson Drive and Slater Street,” McLaughlin said in the release. “Officers learned the accident was related to the disturbance at the construction site where shots were fired.”
The intersection of Johnson Drive and Slater Street is about one half mile north of the original scene.
The crash on Johnson Drive involved a 2006 Dodge Dakota pickup truck with four bullet holes in the windshield.
Recorded radio traffic stated that the man behind the wheel had been shot three times.
A Johnson County Med-Act ambulance transported the man to the Overland Park Regional Medical Center, where Chief McLaughlin confirmed the man died from his injuries..
“Officers and detectives have located all parties involved in this incident,” McLaughlin said.
Early Friday afternoon, a Johnson County Crime Lab technician could be seen collecting evidence, including casings, inside an area blocked off by construction fencing behind the Freddy’s restaurant.
At the crash scene, Crime Lab techs had processed the shooting victim’s truck, and an officer was waiting for a tow truck to take the truck to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab for further processing.
As of 4 p.m. on Friday, no arrested parties related to this incident had been booked into the Johnson County Adult Detention Center.
Police said the investigation is ongoing. No identifying information about the shooting victim or any suspects has been released.
Anyone with information about this incident can contact Merriam Police at 913-782-0720 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
