Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jun 22

FIFA World Cup Shooting Suspect May Be Dead as FBI Hunts 22-Year-Old Linked to 6 Attacks

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jun 22

FIFA World Cup Shooting Suspect May Be Dead as FBI Hunts 22-Year-Old Linked to 6 Attacks

Q: With the World Cup underway, how did a shooting suspect escape a police standoff and a house fire?

He appears to have escaped because he was no longer inside the Independence, Missouri, house when police and firefighters finally got in after the blaze. Authorities say Oscar Sanchez-Munoz, 22, was tracked to a home in Independence after a series of highway shootings in the Kansas City area, including attacks near the period when the city was hosting World Cup activity. An overnight standoff followed. Around 12:45 a.m. Wednesday, a fire broke out inside the house. Fire crews extinguished it, but when officers entered, Sanchez-Munoz was gone. Police have not publicly explained exactly how or when he got out. The key confirmed fact is that responders did not find him in the burned home, meaning he either slipped away during the standoff or escaped amid the confusion caused by the fire. Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said investigators had no evidence he remained inside. The World Cup connection appears limited. One of the victims was an Uber driver carrying fans to a match, but investigators have said they found no broader evidence that the shootings were tied to the tournament itself. The manhunt remains active. Sanchez-Munoz is wanted in connection with at least six shootings across Missouri and Kansas, including one fatal attack, and the FBI has offered a $25,000 reward. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche later said he believed the suspect may be dead, but Kansas City police said they had not confirmed that.

Q: Why does the Acting AG believe the highway shooter is dead when police have no such information?

There is no confirmed public evidence that Oscar Sanchez-Munoz is dead. Todd Blanche said only that he believed the suspect “may be deceased” after authorities tracked him to a Missouri house, but Kansas City police said they had no information confirming that he had been found dead. The most plausible reason for the gap is that Blanche was referring to preliminary federal intelligence or operational information from the search around the Independence, Missouri, house, where an overnight standoff ended in a fire. But when local investigators searched the property, they did not locate Sanchez-Munoz, so police could not verify any death. The reporting also suggests possible confusion between separate incidents. Some coverage tied Blanche’s remarks to another shooting case in Washington, where a gunman was fatally shot by Secret Service. In the Kansas City case, by contrast, all confirmed law-enforcement statements say Sanchez-Munoz was not found and remains the subject of an active manhunt. So, based on the available facts, Blanche’s statement appears to have been an unconfirmed belief rather than a verified finding. Until investigators recover a body, identify remains, or release forensic evidence, police are treating Sanchez-Munoz as armed, dangerous, and still at large.

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 22

Acting AG Todd Blanche said 22-year-old Oscar Sanchez-Munoz may be dead after investigators tracked him to a Missouri house, though Kansas City police said they have not confirmed that information.
Sanchez-Munoz is wanted in at least six shootings across multiple states, including weekend gunfire on I-70 near Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City that killed one person and injured several others.
The FBI's Kansas City field office offered a $25,000 reward over the weekend for information leading to his arrest and described him as armed and dangerous.
Blanche said more information could be released Monday as the multi-agency search continues around a suspect tied to violence near the FIFA World Cup.