New details in KC-area shooting that injured pregnant woman, killed unborn child: ‘Horrific’
Weeks after a Kansas City area shooting that injured his pregnant wife, Austin Marshall is still juggling two conflicting emotions: both relief that his wife, Ally Marshall, survived being shot in the thigh, and the sadness of mourning the loss of his unborn son.
“We’re grateful to have Ally because she did show up in critical condition, so this could have gone worse and I could have lost them both,” he told The Star.
Ally Marshall, a 27-year-old high school therapist, was driving down Kentucky Avenue in Sugar Creek on the afternoon of Sept. 20 with Austin Marshall, 30, when she was shot, allegedly by a man on a nearby property.
That man, Jermain Hall, has since been charged with unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and aggravated fleeing a stop or detention.
New details that Austin Marshall shared with The Star shed more light on what happened that day, and how it took about an hour to get then pregnant Ally Marshall to North Kansas City Hospital for treatment, after the family says police left the seriously injured and bleeding woman — without first calling paramedics for help — in order to pursue the suspect.
‘Everything’s kind of going in slow motion’
The two had just dropped their twin daughters off with Ally Marshall’s father and were on their way to a birthday party when Austin Marshall said they ran into Hall.
“He was standing outside of a car, the driver’s side ... Ally and I were talking and then we heard a couple pops,” Austin Marshall said. “Then Ally looked over at him and asked if that was real, and then he had turned at us and then shot at us.”
Ally Marshall, who was around 19 weeks pregnant, went into shock, screaming she had been shot. Austin Marshall said he instantly leaned over to put pressure on the wound.
“I also grab the steering wheel and tell her to hit the gas because I’m trying to get out of the situation,” he said. “Then she tells me she can’t feel her legs.”
The two ended up driving a little further ahead and coasted off to the side of the road. Austin Marshall then got out of the car and began putting pressure on her leg from the driver’s side while trying to dial 911.
“I guess I’ve seen enough TV to know how to do that,” he said. “I’m not really in these types of situations ever. I’m an accountant, not an EMT or anything.”
Sugar Creek police officers were called around 4:40 to the area of Kentucky Road and Sterling Avenue on reports of shots fired. Not seeing anything, they continued on Kentucky Road until they were flagged down by Austin Marshall.
While an officer applied a tourniquet on Ally Marshall, Austin Marshall saw Hall driving towards them and around the police vehicle blocking the road.
“Everything’s kind of going in slow motion,” he said.” (The officer) gets that tourniquet on and then we look down the road and the man that had shot at us pulls out of the driveway and drives at us.”
Both cops then left the scene to pursue the suspect, he said, while three neighbors came down to also provide aid.
“It was just me, Ally and those neighbors who came out to help,” Austin Marshall said.
He said he understood cops likely had to follow an active shooter protocol, but they had left Ally behind, who they later learned had been shot in her femoral artery and had lost a lot of blood.
The Sugar Creek police did not call for an ambulance before they left, he said.
Sugar Creek Police did not immediately respond to The Star’s request for comment.
“We were stuck with no transportation and just sitting there. At that point, we called dispatch. They tell us that they can’t send anyone to an active shooter scene,” Austin Marshall said. ‘They can’t send anyone in.”
Dispatch told the group to relocate Ally Marshall to a nearby fire station. The neighbors flagged down a man driving by and loaded her in. The fire station was less than half a mile away, according to Austin.
“We unloaded there and laid her on her back and lifted her legs while one of the neighbors pounded on the fire station door,” he said.
But no one answered. The fire station was empty.
Austin Marshall admitted it was hard to measure the length of time that went by during all of this, but said he believes they were there waiting for about 15 minutes before help arrived. It took about an hour in total from her getting shot to when they arrived at the hospital, he said.
‘It didn’t feel real for the longest time’
At the hospital, Austin Marshall said doctors were pretty straightforward that it was unlikely their son would survive. A heartbeat was found after Ally Marshall got out of surgery, but by the next morning, it was gone.
“I’m a father now, I know what a sonogram kinda looks like and when they go to test the heartbeat, I kinda know what that looks like, and it was a flat line rather than a line that was moving,” Austin Marshall said.
Ally Marshall was put back into a medically induced coma due to her pain and risk of reopening her surgical wounds.
“It didn’t feel real for the longest time,” Austin Marshall said.
Joni Gentry, Ally Marshall’s mom, was at a football game in Lincoln, Nebraska, when she got the call.
“My brain literally broke,” she said. “ I couldn’t comprehend what I was hearing, you never expect to get a call like that.”
Gentry rushed back to Kansas City in what she described as the longest, quickest ride, and stayed in the hospital with Austin Marshall the whole time.
“It was really hard to see her intubated,” Gentry said. “I can’t explain what I felt, it was a horrific feeling.”
Austin Marshall said they have kept in contact with the three neighbors who helped get Ally Marshall to the hospital and they even visited her.
“We owe them everything quite literally, they saved her life,” he said. “Our whole family can’t express enough that we have heroes among us and three of them showed up that day to help.”
Ally’s road to recovery
Ally Marshall was released from the hospital last Wednesday evening. She received stitches down her midsection and incisions on her hip and calf, according to Austin Marshall. She is able to walk with crutches and eat normally now.
A GoFundMe created by Austin Marshall’s sister has raised nearly $60,000 since it was created Sept. 22 to help support Austin and Ally Marshall.
“It’s amazing the outpour of prayer, food, support, just so many people have stepped up and came out to help us,” Gentry said.
Ally Marshall will spend the next few months resting and going to various therapy appointments. A tough reality for the high school based therapist.
“One of the first things she said as she came out was she was so upset that she wasn’t gonna be able to see her kids in the school,” Gentry said.
Doctors told Ally Marshall she may be able to start returning to school around January.
Jermaine Hall, who has been charged in the case, has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 16 at 2 p.m.
This story was originally published October 7, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
