HAPPENING AND HOW COLD TEMPERATURES COULD GET. THIS IS THE LATEST NEWS FROM KMBC NINE. BUT LET’S START WITH THE LATEST NEWS FIRST. A LOCAL SPORTS JOURNALIST DIED AFTER HE WAS FOUND SHOT INSIDE A CAR NEAR I-29 AND NORTHWEST 72ND STREET YESTERDAY NIGHT. AS POLICE CONTINUE TO INVESTIGATE. KMBC NINE S ALAN SHOPE TELLS US THIS IS DEVASTATING NEWS FOR EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO WORKED WITH HIM. Everyone is speechless. WILL AND ADAM JOHNSON, OWNERS OF THE PLATTE COUNTY CITIZEN, SAY THEIR SPORTS JOURNALIST, DENNIS SHARKEY, 50, LOVED EVERYTHING SPORTS. He must have covered some pretty successful basketball and football teams. KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI POLICE CALLED TO AREA FIRST AROUND 7:00 FRIDAY EVENING. SOMEONE CALLS ABOUT A CAR OFF THE ROAD. THE POLICE SHOW UP TO FIND SHARKEY’S SHOT. We are still trying to deal with it when it arrives so close to us. ADAM SAYS CITIZEN EMPLOYEES WERE DEVASTATED TO HEAR THE NEWS. They say Sharkey joined the newspaper in 2018 and again in 2023, covered athletic and county commission meetings, took his job seriously and understood the importance of bringing the news to people in an unbiased manner. SHARKEY, TAKEN TO LIBERTY HOSPITAL, WHERE HE WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD. The newspaper says Sharkey was set to cover a high school basketball game Friday night. THE EDITOR OF THE PAPER SENDING US THIS STATEMENT. WE ARE SHOCKED AND SADENED BY THIS HORRIFIC EVENT. DENNIS WAS A HARD WORKER AND LONG-TERM CONTRIBUTOR TO THE CITIZEN, AND HE WILL BE MISSED. They took the news pretty hard and I pray they do their best. MAYBE SOLVE SOMETHING AND GET ANSWERS TO A FEW QUESTIONS. They add that he was just a really good reporter in Platte County. ALAN SHOPE KMBC NINE DEPUTIES FROM NEWS AND PLATTE COUNTY CONTINUE TO INVESTIGATE. There is currently no word on a suspect. IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION THAT CAN HELP INVESTIGATORS IN THIS CASE, CALL THE CRIME STOPPERS HOTLINE OR SCAN THE Q.
Platte County Citizen sports reporter killed in shooting
Dennis Sharkey, 50, was found shot to death in his car Friday evening.
Updated: 10:11 p.m. CST January 11, 2025
Platte County sheriff’s deputies are investigating the death of Dennis Sharkey, 50, who was found shot to death in his car Friday evening. In Kansas City, Missouri, police were first called to I-29 and NW 72nd Street around 7 p.m. Friday. Paramedics took Sharkey to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Platte County Sheriff’s deputies say the shooting likely took place outside the KCMO city limits. There is no suspicious information at this time. Sharkey, of Liberty, was the sports reporter for the Platte County Citizen. The newspaper wrote on Facebook: “The staff of the Platte County Citizen is saddened by the loss of Dennis Sharkey, the Citizen’s sports reporter, who died in a homicide Friday evening.”
Platte County sheriff’s deputies are investigating the death of Dennis Sharkey, 50, who was found shot to death in his car Friday evening.
Police in Kansas City, Missouri, were first called to I-29 and NW 72nd Street around 7 p.m. Friday.
Paramedics took Sharkey to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Platte County sheriff’s deputies say the shooting likely took place outside the KCMO city limits.
There is no suspicious information at this time.
Sharkey, of Liberty, was the sports reporter for the Platte County Citizen.
The newspaper wrote on Facebook: “The staff of the Platte County Citizen is saddened by the loss of Dennis Sharkey, the Citizen’s sports reporter, who died of homicide Friday evening.”