Kansas City , Missouri ( CNN ) -- The man charged with shooting at motorists on Kansas City highways apparently fired a .380 pistol from his own car before speeding away , documents released on Friday said . Authorities identified the suspect as Mohammed Pedro Whitaker . He is 27 and lives in Grandview , south of Kansas City , reported CNN affiliate KCTV-TV . He was charged with 18 felony counts covering nine incidents and is being held under $ 1 million cash bond . Probable cause statements show police connected the shootings through .380 bullets found in the vehicles . Starting in early March , motorists told police of being shot at in the I-435/I-470/Highway 71 interchanges . In several cases , the drivers reported seeing a dark green car near them driven by a man wearing sunglasses , a dark hoodie and sometimes a black ski mask . One break came when a witness looking for a lost cell phone beside a road found a Walmart bag containing .380 ammunition , the documents showed . Prints on the ammunition boxes matched Whitaker 's . After police started shadowing Whitaker , he was observed trying to buy a .380 handgun with a laser sight from a man in a Bass Pro Shop parking lot , the statements said . When police questioned the second man , he told officers he advertised the pistol online but refused to sell when Whitaker could n't provide identification , the statement said . Police served search warrants at Whitaker 's residence on Monday and Thursday and found a .380 pistol , ammunition , sunglasses and three black hoodie sweatshirts , the statements show . When questioned by police , Whitaker said he was one of the `` highway shooter 's '' victims and claimed not to own a firearm , the probable cause statements say . Jackson County , Missouri , prosecutor Jean Peters Baker , speaking at a press briefing , said Whitaker acted alone . She said he is being held on $ 1 million cash bond . Baker would n't reveal much background on Whitaker but said he has `` very little criminal record . '' Whitaker is accused of shooting at nine vehicles , with two charges in each incident , Baker said . Baker said surveillance , ballistics , more than 100 tips from citizens and witness statements helped authorities with their case . `` It was n't built on one thing , '' she said . `` It was built on a series of things . '' Earlier , police said someone had fired a gun at as many as 20 motorists on major roads and highways . Baker did n't say if investigators suspected Whitaker in the other cases but that more charges may be filed . Three people in vehicles were reported shot , none with life-threatening injuries . Whitaker was charged in two of those cases , Baker said . Whitaker was arrested Thursday . Kevin Cooksey , who lives across an alley from the suspect , said he saw police take him into custody . `` He could n't go nowhere because he was surrounded . Completely surrounded , '' Cooksey told affiliate KSHB-TV . `` They were on him . As soon as it happened , they were on him . '' The shootings began March 8 . Some motorists were n't even aware shots had been fired at their vehicles . Jennie Baugher was driving along U.S. 71 when she heard something strike her car . `` I thought a big rock hit us , '' said the married mother of two from Roeland Park , Kansas . `` My husband saw it the next day . Immediately when he told me that there was a hole in my car , I realized a bullet hit my car . '' Mechanic found bullet holes . Tom McFarlin said he thinks shots at his vehicle came from a moving car on one of the ramps or overpasses . `` It was exactly where the highway splits , '' he said . McFarlin was headed home to Lee 's Summit , Missouri , on Interstate 470 south after watching his son 's basketball game . Like Baugher , his car was shot in the evening , around 8:30 . When he took his car to mechanics a few days later , they discovered not one , but two bullets . The second one was lodged in the undercarriage . Both cars were hit in the rear on the passenger side . The bullets lodged in metal and did not make it inside . In McFarlin 's case , had the bullet made its way through the metal , anyone sitting in the passenger seat would have been hit . Authorities had offered a $ 10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case . Fears calmed . Residents greeted news of the arrest with relief . `` It 's actually been really nerve-racking , '' Marisol Sanchez told KCTV . `` It 's really scary because I 've been scared driving around , '' motorist Melissa Mitchell also told KCTV . `` Everybody is talking about the shooter , and now it 's good that they have caught him in a short time , '' said gas station manager Bader Qureini . Kansas City Mayor Sly James praised the investigators , saying , `` Our citizens should have a heightened sense of security on the highways . '' CNN 's Dave Cera and George Howell reported from Kansas City , Missouri . CNN 's Ed Payne and Ralph Ellis wrote this report in Atlanta .
He charged with 18 felony counts covering three murders . Police identify the suspect as Mohammed Ali Whitaker . Break came when witness found ammo boxes beside road . He is being held on $ 1 million cash bond , police says .