9-year-old calls for help after her mom and siblings are shot dead, Missouri cops say
A woman was shot in the face by her boyfriend, who then turned the gun on her three children, Missouri police told local news outlets.
The shooting reportedly happened around 8 p.m. Monday, July 3, in St. Ann, a northwest suburb of St. Louis.
The lone survivor was the woman’s 9-year-old daughter, who was shot at seven times before escaping and calling 911 at a neighbor’s home, according to KTVI.
She witnessed her 30-year-old mom be shot in the face by the woman’s boyfriend, identified by KMOV as 34-year-old Coleman McIlvain. The 9-year-old was also reportedly shot in the hand.
“She was bleeding, she had blood all over her, and I said, ‘Are you hit anywhere else?’” Gwen Connelly, a neighbor, told KMOV. “She said, ‘I don’t think so,’ but she was drenched in blood, so she said, ‘Why did this happen to me?’”
When officers arrived, they found the mother dead in the garage, according to KSDK. Her 14-year-old son was pronounced dead in the kitchen with a gunshot wound to the head, and the woman’s 5-year-old daughter was discovered shot three times, the station reported.
The 5-year-old girl died after being taken to a hospital, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported.
Police said McIlvain shot himself after shooting his girlfriend and her three children, KTVI. He also died at a hospital.
The 9-year-old told police the shooting happened after the girl’s mother would not let McIlvain drive drunk, KMOV reported.
“To witness her mom and mom’s boyfriend arguing, because he’s intoxicated and drunk, pull out a firearm and shoot her right in the face, she’s going to have to live with that for the rest of her life,” St. Ann police chief Aaron Jimenez told KTVI.
Police told KSDK that the 9-year-old is expected to survive.
“I’m worried about the 9-year-old child and how she will live the rest of her life, and worried about the police who had to witness this,” Jimenez told the Post Dispatch.
St. Anne Mayor Amy Poelker said in a statement she is “extremely saddened” about the shooting.
“It was a tough start to the morning as we suffered the tragic loss of life in St. Ann,” St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell said. “We pray for the victims & their loved ones.”
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, intimate partner violence affects millions of people in the United States every year. About one in five women and one in seven men report having experienced severe physical violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime, according to the CDC. For help and resources click the drop down arrow.
Domestic violence resources
If you or a loved one are in need of help these resources are available. You do not need to have an emergency to call the crisis hotlines.
- Kansas’s crisis hotline: 888-363-2287
- Missouri’s child abuse hotline: 1-800-392-3738
- Friends of Yates: Crisis hotline: 913-321-0951; toll-free crisis hotline: 855-232-0252
- Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault: Crisis hotline, 816-531-0233 for Missouri or 913-642-0233 for Kansas
- Safehome: 24 hour hotline, 913-262-2868
- Kansas City Anti Violence Project: Crisis hotline, available by text, call or email, 816-348-3665 or 913-802-4014 or info@kcavp.org
- Rose Brooks Center: Crisis hotline, 816-861-6100
- Hope House: Crisis hotline, 816-461-4673
- Newhouse: Crisis hotline, 816-471-5800
- Synergy Services: Crisis hotline, 816-321-7050 or 800-491-1114
- Any of the six Kansas City area metro domestic violence shelters can be reached at 816-468-5463.
If you are outside the Kansas City area the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233; the National Child Abuse Hotline is 800-422-4453; the National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-565-4673.
This story was originally published July 5, 2023 at 5:55 AM with the headline "9-year-old calls for help after her mom and siblings are shot dead, Missouri cops say."