Background: The location in Waterloo, Ill. where Emma Schultheis was fatally shot (Google Maps). Inset: Emma Schultheis (Quernheim Funeral Home).
An Illinois man was charged with a felony after police said he shot his 14-year-old daughter while trying to kill a buzzard.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff”s Department, 34-year-old David Schultheis surrendered to police after a warrant was issued for his arrest on a charge of reckless discharge of a firearm. An investigation into the July 21 shooting death of his daughter, 14-year-old Emma Schultheis, determined that he was using a handgun to take down a buzzard that had entered a brick office building in Waterloo, Illinois.
Police said Schultheis fired at the bird without looking.
“Schultheis inserted only his arm into the room — keeping his head outside the doorway to avoid potential ricochet — before pulling the trigger,” the police statement said. The bullet allegedly “struck the bird, passed through it, exited the building through a window, and ultimately struck his daughter, Emma Schultheis, who was outside.”
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When police arrived at the scene at 1:34 p.m. on July 21, they found Emma with gunshot wounds and brought her to the hospital. She was pronounced dead despite life-saving efforts by medical staff. She would have turned 15 years old in less than a week.
Police also determined that 58-year-old Karen Schwarze apparently attempted to conceal Emma’s death as well as the Taurus .40 caliber pistol that Schultheis used when he allegedly shot his daughter. She also attempted to “influence others not to speak with law enforcement officers during the early stages of the investigation,” police said. Schwarze’s relationship with Schultheis was not made clear by authorities.
Police said that Schultheis turned himself in to the police and was released after being booked on one count of reckless discharge of a firearm. Monroe County Sheriff Neal Rohlfing told the Bellville News-Democrat that authorities did not petition the court for pretrial detention. Schultheis was scheduled to make his first appearance in court on Thursday.
Schwarze was also expected to surrender to authorities “in the near future” after she was charged with concealment of a homicidal death and obstruction of justice.
Sheriff Rohlfing told the Bellville News-Democrat that the shooting was “not intentional,” adding, “We feel terrible for the family and friends.”
