Former Sports Reporter Killed in Road-Rage Shooting on Interstate
A former sports reporter, Dennis Sharkey Jr., has been killed in a road-rage shooting on the I-29 interstate in Missouri, according to police. The incident, which occurred on Jan. 10, led to the arrest of Ruslan Huseynov, 34, who is now charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action. The case was built on a combination of witness statements, cellular data, and physical evidence such as bullet casings recovered at the scene.
Authorities initially responded to the 911 call from a man and his girlfriend, who had been driving behind Huseynov’s and Sharkey’s vehicles on I-29, driving southbound in the right-hand lane. Witnesses described seeing the suspect’s and victim’s vehicles come to a stop in front of them, forcing the couple to stop on the interstate as well. As they were driving by the two parked cars, they saw the suspect, believed to be of Middle Eastern or Italian descent, get out of his vehicle with a gun, point it at the victim’s car and then flee. A gunshot was heard as they continued southbound on the interstate and they called 911.
First responders located the victim’s vehicle, which had crashed into a fence on I-29 with Sharkey, identified as the former sports reporter, inside. He had a gunshot wound, and was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:51 p.m. Authorities linked suspicious cellphone data from the area of the crash to Huseynov and found bullet casings near the same scene.
Forensic evidence suggested that Huseynov’s cellphone was in a vehicle which had stopped on the interstate at the time of Sharkey’s death. Additionally, a search warrant executed on Huseynov’s cellphone placed him in the Platte County area on the afternoon of Jan. 10 and traced him to a nearby liquor store. He was pulled over for a traffic violation in March and arrested on an unrelated charge in June, though authorities questioned him about the Jan. 10 shooting at that time.
During the investigation, police recovered a 9mm gun, ammunition and a magazine from Huseynov’s home. A bullet recovered from Sharkey’s body and shell casings found at the scene matched the evidence found at Huseynov’s residence, confirming the connection. Huseynov is currently being held in the Platte County Detention Center without bond, and he does not have a listed defense attorney at this time.
Huseynov’s arrest comes as the community mourns the loss of a beloved local journalist. A GoFundMe campaign for Sharkey, titled ‘Honor Dennis: Support His Mom in Her Time of Need,’ describes him as not only a beloved son, cousin, and friend but also a dedicated caretaker to his mother, who is now left to navigate this unimaginable heartbreak. The obituary for Sharkey notes that he worked for several publications within the Missouri and Kansas regions, including the Platte County Citizen, where he served as a reporter and photographer for sports events. He was also a passionate follower of sports teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals and loved gardening and his relationship with his maternal grandmother, Edna.