Police kill man suspected in Platte County killings, kidnapping

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man suspected of killing two people, injuring another and abducting a child was shot and killed by police Friday morning in Platte County, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

George Clyde Manning III, 43, was shot and killed by police in the area of NW Vivion Road and NW Waukomis Drive at about 7:30 a.m.

According to MSHP, officers searching for the suspect saw him walking with a handgun. Officers then shot at the suspect and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

MSHP advised residents to avoid the scene as the investigation is ongoing. The incident stems from a series of events that started Thursday night.

It started with a deadly shooting in Riverside, near the intersection of NW Vivion Road and NW High Drive, at a car wash at approximately 11:15 p.m. 

The Platte County Sheriff's Office in a news conference late Friday morning, said there is no relation between the suspect, Manning, and the victim killed at the car wash. They also said it appears that the suspect wanted to steal the victim's car so they shot them and took their car.

The suspect then took that victim’s vehicle from the scene and drove to NW 50th Street in unincorporated Platte County. 

At a home in the 4400 block of NW 50th Street, the suspect allegedly shot a boy and a woman. The boy died and the woman was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, according to the sheriff's office.

“One was a juvenile that’s deceased. The other was an adult female who received serious physical injury and was transported to a local hospital where she Is receiving medical treatment,” Capt. Shanks added.

The suspect then allegedly took a 5-year-old girl from the home and fled the area. The Platte County Sheriff's Office said they believe the girl was Manning's daughter and the woman injured is the girl's mother.

They said they are not sure if there is a relationship between Manning and the boy who was killed.

An Amber alert for the girl was issued just after 2:30 a.m. Friday and was canceled more than four hours later after she was found safe. The girl has since been reunited with family members.

“Sometime around 5 a.m. this morning, after the Amber Alert had been put out on the female, the female child was released to a family member of the suspect and was found safe and unharmed,” Capt. Shanks said.

“With everything going on, we are processing three or four separate crime scenes,” Capt. Jeffrey Shanks with the Platte County Sheriff's Office added.

In addition to those crimes, KCK Police is also reporting that Manning is believed to have committed another series of felonies in KCK overnight.

Capt. Shanks echoed KCKPD, saying the suspect, “possibly engaged in some other criminal activity before coming back into Missouri.”

KCKPD says that just before midnight, officers confirmed an aggravated assault occurred at a bar at 27274 North 13th Street. No one was injured in that assault, police say, but witnesses' reports matched Manning's description.

Those witnesses claimed that the suspect had fled on foot, and just minutes later, KCKPD says that a carjacking was reported near North 11th and Rowland Avenue. The suspect in that carjacking also matched Manning's description and the vehicle was found wrecked shortly after.

Just before 6 a.m., and less than two hours before Manning was killed, a 911 caller reported his unoccupied car was stolen outside a convenience store at 1313 Quindaro Boulevard. Once again, the suspect matched Manning's description.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says officers with the Kansas City Police Department and members of the Homeland Security Investigations Unit are who fired their weapons.

MSHP is continuing its investigation into the officer-involved shooting, and the Riverside Police Department and the Platte County Sheriff's Office will continue to investigate what led up to the early-morning shootings and abduction.