Wichita teen charged in shooting at church where he was turned away from funeral
A teenager arrested for shooting into a crowd gathered for an afternoon funeral last week at a Wichita church was charged Wednesday at his first appearance in Sedgwick County District Court with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of aggravated endangering a child and one count of criminal damage to property.
Wichita police last week said Demetrius Solomon Carter, 18, pulled a handgun and started firing at people in front of the New Life Church and Outreach Center, on the corner of 11th and Oliver, after family of the deceased told him he couldn’t attend. The funeral was for Johnathan D. McPherson-Pickett, the 19-year-old who died in a two-vehicle crash that injured eight people near downtown last month.
The shooting, which police have said had ties to gangs, was reported at 1:32 p.m. June 16.
Responding to a request for comment Wednesday, Carter’s lawyer, Mark Sevart, said he had not yet “had an opportunity to visit with Mr. Carter about the case” because he had just been appointed to defend him.
After Carter started shooting, other suspects began firing, too, police have said. People in the crowd shot back.
The result was a gunfight that sent funeral attendees running and ducking for cover. Police said more than 50 people were scattering in different directions when officers arrived.
Carter was shot in the forearm during the chaos. Another person initially thought to have been grazed by a bullet actually was hurt when they fell while running away, police said. Another suffered a seizure.
Several vehicles and homes were hit by bullets, police said, and officers found several guns at the scene.
Police said Friday that they weren’t sure exactly how many shooters there were between the two groups involved and were looking for more suspects. One witness told The Eagle he thought 25 to 30 shots had been fired.
Police said Carter was found around the corner from the church and was treated for the gunshot wound before he was questioned. He was later arrested and booked into the Sedgwick County Jail, where he remained Wednesday in lieu of bonds totaling more than $6.5 million, according to online jail records. Most of that amount — $5 million — is tied to the funeral shooting, jail records indicate.
His other bonds are:
$1 million for contempt of court
$500,000 for violating bail in a case where he’s charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery and felony theft for allegedly slamming a stolen truck into a Wichita police patrol car, endangering officers, in February 2021
$5,000 in a 2021 case where he’s charged with unlawfully possessing a stolen 2015 Chrysler 200 in January 2021
Carter has pleaded not guilty in both 2021 cases and has jury trials scheduled for November.
His next hearing in the funeral shooting case is set for July 6.
