A 47-year-old father in Nebraska was arrested on Thanksgiving Day for allegedly killing his 10-year-old son, shooting the child in front of their family home while multiple witnesses were inside.
Will McDonald was taken into custody on Thursday evening and charged with one count each of criminal homicide, use of a weapon-gun, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person in the slaying of young Kendrick McDonald, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Omaha Police Department, officers responded to a call at about 11:30 p.m. on Thursday about a shooting outside a residence in the 1100 block of North 31st Avenue. Once there, first responders found Kendrick, who appeared to be suffering from a single gunshot wound. He died at a hospital.
Will McDonald (Omaha Police Department)
Detectives took control of the investigation and quickly placed McDonald, his father, under arrest.
“The investigation is ongoing at this time,” police wrote in the release. “The Omaha Police Department offers its deepest condolences to Kendrick’s family for their loss.”
The Omaha World-Herald reported that based on evidence at the scene, McDonald may have shot and killed his son because he was under the mistaken belief the boy was stealing his car. Investigators reportedly said that when they first got to the address, they were told that the alarm on McDonald’s car had been going off just before the shot rang out.
“Obviously, we’re still pretty early,” Omaha Police Capt. Jeremy Christensen told the newspaper. “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.”
Police reportedly could not confirm whether Kendrick’s mother was inside when he was killed, but they said there were other children there when the shooting took place.
When asked directly whether investigators believe McDonald mistook his son for a car thief, Christensen said detectives were “still trying to figure out the ins and outs of that through the investigation.”
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine told the World-Herald the shooting was tragic.
“But we have to determine if he [McDonald] was justified in doing what he did,” he said, the paper reported. “At this point in time, it doesn’t appear that he was justified in firing.”
A handgun believed to have been used in the shooting was recovered from the scene. McDonald was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he was a convicted felon, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. He spent five years in prison for a robbery conviction.
“Anytime anyone is killed, this is extremely tragic. But this is heartbreaking,” Christensen told Omaha, Nebraska ABC affiliate KETV.
McDonald is being held in the Douglas County Jail without bond.
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