The shooting deaths of two persons in southern Platte County last weekend are being investigated as a murder/suicide by the Kansas City Police Department. According to KCPD officials, at approximately 1 p.m. Sept. 14, officers were dispatched to the Northland Passage Apartments at the 6300 block of N. London in Kansas City, just east of the Interstate 29/NW 64th Street interchange. Upon arriving at the scene, officers found two males who were dead from apparent gunshot wounds. A female with non-life threatening injuries was also found. There were no other injuries reported.
Tuesday morning, KCPD officials released the names of the two dead men: Michael W. Ard, 19, of Kansas City, who police said was a victim; and Kevin W. Longnecker, 51, who is believed to be the suspected shooter.
According to court documents, earlier in the day Sept. 14, Longnecker kidnapped the female victim found alive at the scene from an apartment in Platte Woods and forced her at gunpoint to drive to the Northland Passage Apartment complex. Once there, Longnecker entered an apartment, where he shot Ard. Longnecker then shot himself.
As of The Citizen’s Tuesday deadline, KCPD officials had not released a motive for the shootings. They also said they were not investigating any other suspects.