Background: The Bowie Police Department investigates a shooting on Myrtle Avenue in Bowie, Maryland (WUSA/YouTube). Inset left: Shawanda Alston (GoFundMe). Inset right: Kimball Alton Hinton Jr. (Bowie Police Department).
A mother of seven was holding her youngest child and arguing about back-to-school supplies with her boyfriend when he shot her in the head, according to Maryland law enforcement and the victim's family.
Kimball Hinton Jr., 41, faces a dozen charges, including attempted first- and second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, and three counts of reckless endangerment, according to Prince George's County court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
Though the Bowie Police Department announced the charges on Friday, they have since shared that 38-year-old Shawanda Alston has died. It was not immediately clear whether the attempted murder charges will be upgraded.
On Thursday afternoon, on the 8500 block of Bowie, Maryland, Alston was home with most of her children and Hinton. The neighborhood is about 20 miles east of Washington, D.C.
According to court documents obtained by regional CBS affiliate WUSA, Hinton said he and Alston were arguing "over the inability to provide school supplies" for their children. Alston's eldest daughter, Zhanya Freeman, said she's the oldest of seven kids, and Hinton is the father of five of them.
As they argued, Alston reportedly sat on a bed, holding her 2-month-old daughter. Then, according to police, Hinton grabbed a gun from his pocket and fired, with the bullet striking Alston in the head.
Court documents state a young girl called police and told dispatchers that her father had shot her mother inside their home. Two minutes later, Hinton apparently also called authorities.
"I shot her," he reportedly said. "The gun is in the mailbox."
Officers arrived to find Alston with a gunshot wound. First responders brought her to a nearby hospital in critical condition, but on Tuesday, she was declared dead.
Police said the weapon used — a Sig Sauer .380 handgun — was seized at the scene. Hinton was arrested and booked in the Maryland Department of Corrections.
He is being held without bail and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 21.
A GoFundMe set up for Alston says her family is "grieving a tremendous loss" and that this is an "incredibly painful" time for them, "especially the children in our home."
The fundraiser adds: "As we try to move forward, we are facing not only the emotional weight of losing her, but also the practical challenges that come with rebuilding our sense of stability day by day."