Charges filed on woman accused in Conley Road Walmart shooting
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Charges were filed on Tuesday for a woman accused in a shooting in the parking lot of the Conley Road Walmart in east Columbia on Friday.
Whitney Eliesh Nevels-McKee, 35, of Columbia, was charged with second-degree kidnapping, two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of carjacking, two counts of armed criminal action, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, shooting at or from a vehicle and illegal gun possession.
She is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. An initial court appearance is set for 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Boone County Courthouse. Nevels-McKee was booked into the Boone County Jail at 11:39 p.m. Friday.
According to the probable cause statement, police were called to the Walmart after reports of a woman actively shooting. Police arrived and multiple people allegedly pointed at Nevels-McKee as the shooter, the statement says. Nevels-McKee was allegedly running toward fire and EMS crews, dropped her gun, picked it up and then dropped it again after being instructed by law enforcement, the statement says.
Court documents say the gun Nevels-McKee had was stolen from the Columbia Police Department.
ABC 17 News reached out to CPD to learn when and how the gun was stolen.
One of the victims allegedly told police that she was driving a blue 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe in the parking lot, and Nevels-McKee stood in the middle of a parking aisle with her hand in a “stop” motion, the statement says. Nevels-McKee allegedly asked the victim for a ride, but was declined by the driver.
Nevels-McKee then started reaching into her pockets and the victim started driving away, thinking Nevels-McKee was about to shoot a gun, the statement says.
Another victim of a 2024 Nissan Versa allegedly said she was backing out of a parking spot when Nevels-McKee walked up to her driver-side door, pointed a gun at the woman, told her to get out and threatened to shoot her, the statement says.
Nevels-McKee then allegedly walked to the back of the vehicle and fired multiple shots at the car, court documents say. Nevels-McKee then walked to the driver’s door and shot a round into the floorboard of the vehicle. Nevels-McKee started to run away once they heard sirens, court documents say.
Another person at the front of the Walmart allegedly told police that they saw Nevels-McKee fire a gun at the victim in the Nissan and “couldn’t believe she didn’t shoot her” because of how close the gun was to the victim’s head, court documents say.
Nevels-McKee's son, Chandelle Caiden Marteen said Nevels-McKee has struggled with mental health issues since 2022.
Marteen said he observed a shift in his mother's behavior shortly after his uncle died, which led to a spiral in her mental health. He said she suffers from schizophrenia and goes into states of psychosis, where he doesn't recognize her.
Marteen described Nevels-McKee as a loving mother who never put him in harms way while growing up. He said his only wish is to see his mother get better.
"I want her mental state to go up at least to the point where she's able to function you know a lot better," Marteen said. "I want it tuned down as much as possible where she can be able to you know eat, breathe, sleep... she doesn't really sleep."
Family members said they believe her history of arrests further proves her need to receive help.
According to online court records, Nevels-McKee was charged on May 2 after allegedly attempting to steal a gun from a store. Records show she posted bond May 10. She has a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 30 in that case.
Marteen said he prays for the healing of those affected by Friday's shooting and doesn't excuse his mother's alleged actions. However, he hopes it serves as a reminder to people the importance of mental health.
"They still need to be checked on, they need to be evaluated," Marteen said. "There's still so many people that's not in their right minds and things like that so I feel like everybody should really look out for each other."
