White Army veteran shot Black teen near Iowa rally for Trump
A white Army veteran was charged with attempted murder last month after he shot and wounded a Black 15-year-old girl near a rally for President Trump in Des Moines, Iowa.
Michael McKinney, 25, was arrested Dec. 6 after firing a gun at a vehicle in the parking lot of a government office building earlier that day, authorities said.
The Associated Press reported Friday that a review of the incident indicated the shooting was sparked by a politically charged dispute between four white Trump supporters and four Black girls under the age of 16.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety didn’t mention a nearby Trump auto rally in a news release last month announcing McKinney’s arrest. The Iowa State Patrol didn’t immediately respond to questions about the incident from the Daily News on Friday.
McKinney, of St. Charles, Iowa, was decked out in body armor and told cops that he fired his weapon in self-defense, according to The AP.
McKinney left the Iowa National Guard in 2017 following a half-decade military career, The AP reported.
The mother of the teen driver of the vehicle said the girls were subject to racial slurs; attendees of the rally said the teens started the confrontation.
With News Wire Services
