A man from Minnesota is facing murder charges after he allegedly shot his nine-month pregnant fiancée outside an Amazon warehouse where he is an employee.

Police arrested and charged 32-year-old Donte Raphael McCray with fatally shooting Kyla O’Neal, 31, in her neck at the parking lot of an Amazon distribution center on Sunday, January 8, 2023. 

The Lakeville Police Department received a 911 call at around 6:51 pm about a shooting in the warehouse’s parking lot on 217^th Street West. Responding officers found O’Neal with a gunshot wound to the neck. Emergency medical personnel quickly performed an emergency Cesarean section at the scene to save her baby, who was due to be delivered on Wednesday.

Medical personnel transported the woman to a local hospital, where she later died. Although the baby survived the ordeal, he was in critical condition on Tuesday and doctors put him on a ventilator.

O’Neal’s family told reporters they had named the baby Messiah, as his mother had wanted. The name means “God,” as O’Neal was very spiritual.

According to a probable cause affidavit, McCray originally told investigators that he had accidentally shot his pregnant girlfriend as he tried to clear a round from the chamber. Police would soon learn that that was far from the truth.

Responding officers talked to McCray at the scene, and he told them that O’Neal was his fiancée and that he was the father of her newborn baby. The affidavit states that McCray appeared distraught and revealed that he and the victim had been involved in numerous arguments throughout the day after she learned of his infidelity.

Earlier that day, O’Neal had learned that her soon-to-be husband had gotten another woman pregnant while she was pregnant.

McCray told officers that O’Neal had picked him up at his mother’s house earlier to drop him off at work. He said that when they got there, he realized that he had carried guns and decided to clear live rounds so they would be safe around the children.

He told officers that he accidentally shot the fatal round while trying to clear the live rounds from his gun.

O’Neal’s family informed police that the couple had been arguing that day, and her mother went over to their house because one of their kids told her that McCray was becoming aggressive.

Before the couple left the house, they argued over car keys, and McCray threatened to kill O’Neal if she ever brought another man around the kids. He then told her family that they were not bulletproofed.

Investigators looked over surveillance footage and learned that O’Neal had bumped into McCray as she was reversing her car, then McCray took his gun, aimed it at his pregnant girlfriend and fired. When they interviewed McCray again, he admitted to shooting her because he got agitated when the car door hit him. However, according to a criminal complaint, McCray claimed he did not know there was still a live round in the chamber when he fired the shot.

At the time of the tragedy, McCray was on probation for possessing a gun in public without a permit. He will be facing additional charges if the newborn does not survive.

A judge set his bail at $2 million on Tuesday, January 10.

Kyla O’Neal leaves behind four children and a grieving close family.