Recently, a man from Wisconsin accidentally shot and killed his stepson while he was allegedly trying to impress others by flaunting his guns, despite not really being knowledgeable about firearms.
Steven Merkel, aged 52, now faces charges of reckless homicide following the tragic incident involving 8-year-old Michael Meagher, which occurred in the early hours of Monday, according to CrimeOnline.
Authorities were alerted to the shooting by Merkel himself after 2 a.m. When police arrived, they observed Merkel in a distressed state, covered in blood. Upon entering the residence, they discovered the young boy on the floor. Despite efforts by medics to save him and rushing him to the hospital, the child was later pronounced dead.
Merkel told Walworth County detectives that “he did something stupid” and that it wasn’t the boy’s fault. He said he was showing the child his guns “because it made the defendant look cool” and that he had taken the magazine out because he didn’t the gun would fire, even with a bullet in the chamber, without it.
According to the complaint, he came out of his bedroom, where he had retrieved the gun, “and pointed it at” the boy, pulling the trigger. He said he expected it to click, but instead it went “boom.”
Then, Merkel said, he called the boy’s grandmother, who told him to call 911.
According to the complaint, Merkel said he’d had “two little drinks of rum and RC that evening,” but there was no indication on the report that police checked him for intoxication.
Merkel is being held on a $250,000 bond. His initial court appearance was set for Thursday but was pushed back until Monday, Law&Crime reported.
