21-year-old charged with murder in Independence Center shooting that killed pregnant woman
A 21-year-old Independence man now faces a murder charge in the shooting that killed a 19-year-old pregnant woman and injured him and two others at Independence Center in November, according to court records.
A grand jury indicted MarkAnthony Greer on a charge of second-degree felony murder in a superseding indictment filed Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court in Independence.
Greer also faces three counts of armed criminal action and two counts of unlawful use of the weapon. The indictment replaces six charges previously brought against Greer after the shooting.
Karla Brown, who was at the mall shopping to prepare for her baby, died nearly a week after she was injured in the Nov. 10 shooting. The day after the shooting, her unborn baby Max lost his heartbeat.
According to court documents, surveillance video showed that Brown was with a group of three others who arrived at the mall shortly after 2 p.m.
Greer was in a group of two others headed toward the mall’s north exit to leave when they encountered Brown’s group in the breezeway as they entered, according to court documents. An argument started after someone in group Brown was in said “hello” to his girlfriend.
Surveillance video shows that Brown sat on a bench in the common area inside the mall. The shooting occurred shortly before 2:30 p.m. in the breezeway area and Brown, who was in Greer’s “direct line of fire,” was struck in the head by gunfire. A person not associated with either group was also struck in the leg, according to court documents.
The shooting sent afternoon shoppers scrambling for exits and drew a major police response.
After the shooting, Brown’s group abandoned her, left the mall and fled in a Ford Taurus. Police stopped the car in the parking lot of a hospital. One of the three people in the car had been shot in the leg and was taken to the hospital. The other two were taken in for questioning.
When questioned by police, two members of the group Brown was in said they were armed with guns, but had not fired them. They said Greer opened fire on them and they ran inside the mall to seek cover, according to court documents.
The group Greer was in also ran to the parking lot and fled in a Chrysler 300 to a hospital.
During a police interview, Greer allegedly recalled being involved in an incident at the mall, but said he didn’t recognize any of the others involved or how he was shot in the back. He denied being armed with a gun at the time, according to court documents.
The Star’s Andrea Klick and Bill Lukitsch provided information for this story.
