LAKEVILLE, Minn. — A St. Louis Park man is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of a pregnant woman outside the Lakeville Amazon warehouse Sunday night.
According to a criminal complaint, 32-year-old Donte McCray was the father of the child, who was delivered at Hennepin County Medical Center via cesarean section. According to Dakota County Attorney Kathy Keena, the child is currently in critical condition.
The mother, identified in court documents and a statement from the Dakota County Attorney's Office as 31-year-old Kyla O'Neal (also known as Kyla Fletcher), did not survive.
"If the baby does not survive, additional charges will be filed in relation to the baby’s death. My deepest sympathy is extended to the family and friends of Ms. O'Neal for their great loss," Keena said in a statement.
According to court documents, McCray initially told police that he'd been arguing with O'Neal throughout the day after she learned McCray had a child with another woman while she was pregnant. After McCray took his belongings to his mother's house in Lakeville, he told police that O'Neal picked him up and took him to work at the Amazon warehouse, at which point he realized he had guns in his bags.
According to the complaint, McCray told officers he wanted to "clear" the guns of any live ammunition, and while O'Neal was moving the vehicle, he claimed he tried to clear a round in the chamber and accidentally discharged the gun, hitting O'Neal in the neck.
However, O'Neal's family members told investigators that on the night of her death, McCray violently threatened O'Neal's relatives and threatened to kill the mother of his children if she brought another man around, the complaint said.
According to court records, McCray and O'Neal already had a young child together. In total, O'Neal's death left behind four children, including the baby delivered after the shooting.
Investigators viewed surveillance video from the day of the shooting that showed McCray get out of O'Neal's front passenger seat while parked in front of the warehouse before he went to the back seat and appeared to move something around, court documents said. Video then showed the car pull away from the front of the building and McCray running alongside the car, at which point O'Neal pulled into a parking spot but then reversed and pushed McCray, the complaint said.
Investigators spoke to McCray again after viewing the surveillance video. At that time he admitted he was angry that the car door hit him as it backed up. Prosecutors allege he then raised the gun, pointed it at O'Neal and pulled the trigger. McCray claimed that he didn't know there was a round in the chamber of the gun when he fired the shot, though he told officers he has taken two firearm safety courses, according to investigators.
Family and witnesses also told police that McCray is "very well acquainted with firearms and even knows how to disassemble them." According to court documents, a judge ordered in May that McCray not possess any firearms because of a criminal conviction.
McCray made his first court appearance on Tuesday, Jan. 10 where bail was set at $2 million with conditions. His next appearance is scheduled for Jan. 19 at 9 a.m.
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