ST. JOHN — A suspect in a Stafford County shooting has been charged with one count of a level 4 felony, of aggravated battery with a firearm, according to a criminal court filing in Stafford County. Stafford County Attorney Joe Shepack is working on the case.
The suspect, John M. Gunderson, 71, is being held on $750,000 bond in the Pratt County Jail for a shooting at 221 South Exchange Street at 11:30 p.m. July 6 in St. John. The victim was in a Fifth Wheel camper trailer in back of the residence when the shooting occurred.
The criminal complaint alleges that Gunderson is suspected on unlawfully, willfully, intentionally and feloniously causing great bolidy harm to another person. The level 4 felony allows for a special sentencing rule due to the fact a firearm was used in the aggravated battery.
The shooting victim in an apparent domestic incident has been identified as the stepson of the suspected shooter. William Boyd Parcell, 47, St. John, survived a shot in the chest with a .38 caliber revolver loaded with a buckshot shell, according to police. Parcell was transported by ambulance to the Stafford County hospital and airlifted to Wichita. He is listed in critical condition at Via Christi Hospital-St. Francis.
The St. John News reports that Phyllis Gunderson reported the shooting to police. The paper reports St. John city police sergeant Adam Sayler responded to the call with back up from city police and Stafford County deputies.
The suspect was reportedly attempting to leave the scene in a white Dodge pickup. He was apprehended at the scene and booked into the Pratt County jail at 12:44 a.m. July 7.
Kansas Bureau of Investigation personnel are also assisting with the investigation. The truck, travel trailer and a .38-caliber revolver were taken as evidence.