KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Missouri, man allegedly said he did not mean to shoot a 5-month-old baby when he fatally shot the baby’s father, 21-year-old DeAndre Chiney, at a townhouse on Wheeling Avenue this week, according to court records
Nicholas James, 21, was charged in Jackson County on Friday with second-degree murder, second-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action, and endangering the welfare of a child.
According to Jackson County prosecutors, Chiney and the baby’s mother were in an argument on Wednesday, and some people planned to go to Chiney’s residence to take the baby away from him. James asked those people to take him to Chiney’s residence as well.
Surveillance video captured five people, including James, driving to the Blue Valley Court Townhouses in the 2000 block of Park Tower Road in a black sedan, according to court records. When they arrived, James got out of the vehicle and went to the door of the residence, where he exchanged words with Chiney.
Witnesses told police they heard gunshots and saw James shoot Chiney. One witness, who was in the black sedan, said James panicked when he realized the 5-month-old baby had also been shot and told her that he didn’t mean for that to happen, according to court records.
Surveillance video showed James going to the door of the residence and returning to the car for a few minutes before going back to the front door, extending his arm and shooting the victim, records said. He then left the house and fled with the four other people in the vehicle.
The baby was taken to an area hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, Kansas City police said earlier this week.
James was taken into custody on Thursday. He initially said he was home all day and did not leave the house, but later said he shot Chiney after police said the incident had been captured on surveillance video, according to court records.
Prosecutors requested a $500,000 cash bond for James.
