KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City man is now facing charges for allegedly shooting his girlfriend in a KC home where children were present, prosecutors say.
Mervin M. McNeal, 34, has been charged with first-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action in Jackson County.
According to court documents, just before 1 a.m. on March 15, police were called to Truman Medical Center for a shooting victim. The woman had gunshot wound to her face and was in critical condition.
Shortly after hospital staff called police, court documents say McNeal flagged down officers as he was walking down a Kansas City street.
The woman was able to tell hospital staff that her four children had been left unattended at her KC home.
When police arrived at the home, they found blood and a rifle round in the driveway. Officers also found four children — an 11-year-old boy, a 9-year-old boy, a 7-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl — unharmed inside the home, court documents say.
After obtaining a search warrant, investigators found large amounts of blood inside the home and a rifle magazine and round, according to police.
A neighbor told officers McNeal began banging on her front door just after midnight, yelling for help. Court documents say McNeal allegedly told the neighbor his girlfriend had shot herself. The neighbor went upstairs to get dressed, and when she came back down, McNeal was gone.
In forensic interviews, the children told officials their mother and McNeal had been arguing that night, according to court documents.
The woman was threatening to leave with the children when the kids said they heard McNeal allegedly say he would shoot her if she tried to take the daughter they had in common.
Court documents say the children said they went into a bedroom while the couple stayed in the living room and continued to argue. Shortly after, they heard a “pop” and came out to find their mother suffering from a gunshot wound to her face.
One child told police she saw McNeal allegedly dragging the woman by her arm across the floor to the front door. The children told officials they saw McNeal with a rifle, according to court documents.
McNeal initially told police his girlfriend grabbed for the rifle as they were arguing. When he went to grab for it, he said it accidentally went off.
Court records say McNeal later changed his story. He told police the woman never touched the weapon and that he accidentally pulled the trigger then later threw the rifle in their neighbor’s back yard. Police later recovered the rifle from that neighbor’s yard.
McNeal told police he drove the woman to East 25th Street and Troost then started walking. The woman drove herself to the hospital.
Prosecutors have requested a $150,000 cash bond for the 34-year-old.
