Kinloch Man Charged in Grandson's Fatal Shooting

The 7-year-old found Walter Macon's "improperly secured" gun in his truck, prosecutors say

Aug 8, 2023 at 11:24 am

St. Louis County Jail

Walter Macon booking photo.

Charges have been filed against a 45-year-old Kinloch man after his 7-year-old grandson shot and killed himself after finding a gun in the man's truck.

According to charging documents, yesterday morning Walter Macon was outside the Mint Townhomes in Berkeley, loading recording equipment into his truck, when he allowed his grandson, Darnell Macon, to climb into the back seat. The child then made his way to the front seat, where he found Macon's loaded Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun. Prosecutors say it had been "improperly secured between the front seat and center console."

Macon left the child alone for approximately five and half minutes, and returned to the vehicle to find the child slumped over, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Macon has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and armed criminal action.

"I've seen a lot of crime scenes, and the fact that a seven-year-old child is dead is just that much more tragic and heartbreaking," St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Welsey Bell said in a statement. "We have a gun problem in this country, and we need to address it yesterday."

Macon appears to be the same individual whom Bell's predecessor Bob McCulloch filed a quo warranto petition against six years ago, attempting to remove him as a director of the Kinloch Fire Protection District. McCulloch's office argued Macon had not been properly elected to that role.

McCulloch's office dropped the removal effort about five months after filling the initial petition, when the Kinloch Fire Protection District properly elected its directors, Macon among them.

Macon is currently detained in the county jail. He has no upcoming court date listed at this time.