Murder charge filed in Camden County death

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Camden County man was charged Monday with first-degree murder and other violent felonies in the shooting death of a family member and severe wounding of another.

Alexander O. Cantrell-King was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action. He was in the Camden County Jail on Tuesday.

Emergency dispatchers received a call in which they could hear the caller telling someone named Alex to put down a gun at about 11 p.m. Sunday night, the Camden County Sheriff's Office said in a release. Sounds of fighting could be heard before the call dropped.

Deputies went to the residence in the area of Route FF and Pine Cove Road in Edwards and found Eric L. Cantrell, 56, lying on the floor of a camper with a gunshot wound, the sheriff's office says. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A second, female gunshot victim was flown to a hospital, the sheriff's office said. Authorities are not naming the second victim.

Cantrell-King, 20, who is a family member of both victims, told investigators that he heard a gunshot go off inside the camper, according to the sheriff's office. He allegedly told investigators that he went into the camper after hearing the shot and found the woman holding a rifle and Eric Cantrell lying on the floor.

Cantrell-King allegedly said he wrestled the rifle away from the woman and it accidentally went off, shooting her. The woman identified Cantrell-King as the shooter on the way to the hospital, according to the release. Evidence supports her claim, investigators said.

Cantrell-King was being held without bond and was scheduled for a court appearance Tuesday morning.