A Nebraska dad has been charged with criminal homicide and other charges related to the shooting death of his 10-year-old son Thursday night.
Omaha polic arrived at the home about 11:30 p.m. for a report of a shooting and found the boy, Kendrick McDonald, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was rushed to the Nebraska Medical Center, where he died, the Omaha World Herald reported.
The boy’s father, 47-year-old Will McDonald, has been charged with criminal homicide, use of a weapon, and prohibited possession of a firearm. He’s being held without bond.
Omaha Police Captain Jeremy Christensen said investigators are trying to piece together what led to the shooting and said it appeared a car alarm was going off just before the gunfire.
“Obviously, we’re still pretty early,” Christensen said. “We do know that there was allegedly a car alarm going off, and for whatever reason, the suspect/father went outside to maybe investigate that. We’re not 100% on that, but we are receiving information that a car alarm was going off. … As to exactly what transpired and the why of it, we’re still trying to piece that together through our investigation.”
Christensen said a handgun was recovered at the scene, but he declined to say how many times the boy was shot. He also said there were other children in the house at the time of the shooting, but it wasn’t clear if the mother was present.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said formal charges could be filed by Sunday. He said his office has received a preliminary report from police and are awaiting a formal briefing.
“It’s obviously very tragic,” Kleine said. “But we have to determine if he (Will McDonald) was justified in doing what he did. … At this point in time, it doesn’t appear that he was justified in firing.”
Will McDonald was convicted of felony theft and felony robbery in the late 1990s, serving time in prison from 1998 to 2003. He was charged with illegally possessing a gun in 2005, along with making terroristic threats and using a firearm to commit a felony. The final outcome of those charges was not clear from online records.
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[Featured image: Will McDonald/Douglas County Sheriff’s Office]
