Police link Kansas City-area highway shootings

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police have linked several apparently random shootings in the past month targeting vehicles on Kansas City-area roads and highways, but they didn't say Wednesday how many are connected or how they came to that conclusion.

Inconsistent statements by witnesses and the possibility that some of the incidents were isolated cases of road rage have made it difficult to pin down an exact number of vehicles involved, Kansas City, Mo., police said in a news release Wednesday afternoon. Investigators also are not releasing information on suspect vehicles.

On Monday, the police department announced that 13 shootings had happened since March 8, with three of the victims receiving gunshot wounds not considered life-threatening. Most of the shootings were in an area of the city's south side known as the Grandview Triangle, where three interstate highways and U.S. 50 intersect

In each case, someone fired shots just before reaching a highway exit ramp or road split, then veered off in a different direction from the victim's vehicle. The number of reported shootings has fluctuated as officers investigate additional incidents and rule out others, police said.

Additional officers are being sent to areas where the shootings occurred. No new incidents have been reported since Sunday night, police said.

A local Crime Stoppers hot line had received more than two dozen tips by 11 a.m. Wednesday. A $7,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the shooters.