The Sedalia Police Department is seeking a Sedalia man in connection with a shooting Sunday in the 100 block of South Park Avenue that sent a woman to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg.
Elijah A. Nash, 20, of Sedalia, is wanted in connection with the shooting, but Sgt. Kelley Casto of the Criminal Investigations Bureau said he is not considered a suspect at this time.
“He’s someone we want to talk to to determine how this happened,” Casto told the Democrat early Wednesday evening. “We’re hoping he’ll be able to talk with us about it and see what direction we’re going to go with it from there.”
Casto said Nash was determined to be a person of interest in the case after witnesses reported seeing him at different locations after the incident, including at Bothwell Regional Health Center.
According to a Sedalia Police Department news release, around 11:25 a.m. Sunday, the victim, Kyndel A. Smith, 17, told officers she was sleeping in a bedroom at the residence when she was awakened by a gunshot and a pain in her right knee. A person living at the residence drove Smith to BRHC where hospital staff notified police they were treating a gunshot wound. She was transported to University Hospital for advanced treatment.
Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Bureau obtained a search warrant for the South Park Avenue residence where they processed the residence for any evidence. The vehicle which was used to drive the victim to the hospital was also located and processed by detectives.
Casto said Smith has been released from the hospital. SPD detectives haven’t talked to her since Monday, but “from what I understand, she’s doing OK,” he said.
“We’re looking for (Nash), we would like to talk with him,” Casto said. “If anyone can provide us any information to his whereabouts that would be great. They just need to be careful if they do see him because he is known to be armed.”
Police have not made any arrests in this incident and continue to investigate the shooting. Anyone with information about Nash’s whereabouts or this shooting incident is encouraged to contact SPD at 660-826-8100.