The Thanksgiving festival marked the tragic end of a 10-year-old innocent boy from Omaha, Nebraska. Per PEOPLE, the boy, Kendrick McDonald, was shot and killed on Thursday night. When the police arrived at the scene at 11:30 p.m., they found the little boy in pain from a gunshot wound.
Per the press release, he was immediately taken by Omaha Fire Department personnel to Nebraska Medicine, where he was later declared dead. It further revealed that Kendrick’s father, Will McDonald, 47 years old, was reportedly arrested for “criminal homicide, use of a weapon-gun and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.”
According to PEOPLE, the father of the 10-year-old is held without bail at the Douglas County Jail. The press release reveals that the investigation is currently ongoing. The OPD also offers its “deepest condolences to Kendrick’s family for their loss.”
Omaha World-Herald reports that a car alarm might have predicated the shooting. Omaha Police Capt. Jeremy Christensen stated, “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 per cent 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 also further responded to the query of whether McDonald might have mistaken his son for a car thief. The police official shared that they were not sure.
He said, “We’re still trying to figure out the ins and outs of that through the investigation.”
He shared that the authorities had found a handgun at the scene. When he was asked how many times the boy was shot, the police refused to comment. However, he did reveal that there were other children in the house Thursday night. The police are yet to confirm whether Kendrick’s mother was there.
According to an Omaha outlet, Douglas Country Attorney Don Kleine mentioned that the prosecutors could file formal charges by Sunday. He shared that they have not yet received sufficient information, and they are still waiting for the police’s briefing.
Kleine said, “It’s obviously very tragic… 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.”
Omaha World-Herald also reported that Will McDonald had previously served time in prison in the 1990s and from 1998 to 2003. He was convicted of felony theft and felony robbery. Later, in 2005, he was charged with illegal possession of a gun as a convicted felon, along with making terror threats and using a firearm to commit a felony.
The outlet informs that his case was sent to Douglas County District Court for trial. However, it was nebulous as to what happened with those charges.