A Missouri man has been arrested after allegedly shooting and killing a sports reporter on a highway during a road rage incident.
Ruslan Huseynov, 34, is accused of second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon, and armed criminal action in the death of Dennis Sharkey Jr., 50.
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, the incident happened around 7 p.m. on January 10 on Interstate 29 near Northwest 72nd Street, just north of Kansas City. A couple driving through the area noticed two vehicles coming to a complete stop in the far right lane. They reported seeing the suspect vehicle directly ahead of the victim vehicle. They witnessed a man emerge from the suspect vehicle, holding a gun in his right hand. Witnesses sped past the two vehicles and heard a single gunshot as they drove away. They dialed 911.
Authorities rushed to the scene and discovered Sharkey’s car had crashed into a fence off the highway. He was unresponsive and had suffered a gunshot wound. Police said doctors pronounced him dead at a hospital.
According to the affidavit, investigators discovered a single 9mm shell casing on the highway near the scene of the road rage shooting. Detectives identified Huseynov as the suspect after obtaining a search warrant for cell tower data, which revealed the phones in the area at the time of the shooting.
Huseynov’s vehicle matched the one seen on surveillance footage from the time of the murder, police said. While investigating Huseynov, detectives discovered he had allegedly shoplifted from a grocery store twice, including a plate of food from a buffet.
On Tuesday, police arrested Huseynov on shoplifting charges and questioned him about the road rage shooting.
After Miranda, Huseynov “adamantly denied owning a gun.” Cops confronted him with a photo from his iCloud account showing him holding a 9 mm handgun, according to the affidavit. According to the affidavit, the suspect admitted to being the person in the photo but claimed the gun belonged to a friend. He couldn’t remember the friend’s name and identified him as a “black male tattoo artist who worked near the airport,” according to cops.
Huseynov continued to deny possessing a firearm, but officers discovered a 9 mm handgun in a safe in his bedroom. Authorities confirmed on Tuesday that the gun used to kill Sharkey was the same one.
“I can’t say enough about the dogged determination of investigators who refused to give up on this difficult case,” Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd told reporters during a press conference.
According to Zahnd, investigators are still trying to piece together what happened before the shooting.
Sharkey was a reporter for the Platte County Citizen. The shooting occurred as he was leaving a sports event he had been covering.
In addition to being a sports reporter, Sharkey was his mother’s primary caregiver.
“He was her rock, caretaker, and provider,” according to a GoFundMe page.
