‘Did something stupid’: Man shoots and kills 8-year-old stepson while attempting to ‘look cool’ by showing off guns, cops say
A man in Wisconsin showing off his guns to his 8-year-old stepson in an attempt to “look cool” shot and killed the youngster — telling cops afterward that “he did something stupid,” according to police.
Steven Merkel, 52, of Lake Geneva, is charged with first-degree reckless homicide in connection to the death of his stepson Michael Meagher at a residence on Lincoln Drive on Monday, according to the Town of Geneva Police Department and Walworth County District Attorney’s Office. The DA’s office reviewed the early morning shooting and charges were brought down later in the day Monday after the shooting was first reported at around 2:25 a.m., officials say.
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He later allegedly told cops that “he did something stupid, and it wasn’t (Meagher’s) fault” that he got shot. When police asked Merkel why he was showing Meagher the guns, he told them “because it made the defendant look cool,” the complaint states.
Merkel claimed he took the magazine out of the 9 mm handgun that was used to kill Meagher and was under the impression that it wouldn’t fire without it, police said.
Alcohol was involved.
