Aaron Zumwalt was arrested charged after shooting his girlfriend in the hip in Republic, Mo., and falsely claiming that a tall, bald black man shot her

A Missouri man awaiting trial for a pair of rape charges allegedly shot his girlfriend by mistake and then blamed it on a imaginary black man.
Aaron Zumwalt, a convicted felon who is out on bond in the rape case, was at his friend’s home in Republic with his girlfriend when she suddenly felt a pain in her leg, according to court documents cited by the Springfield News-Leader.
When she looked down, she saw the lower part of her shirt was covered in blood and realized she’d been shot.
Zumwalt drove his girlfriend to Cox Hospital early Sunday with injuries to her stomach, right hip and buttocks — but not before laying down a mat in his car “so blood would not get on his seat,” the Kansas City Star reported.
When the couple arrived at the hospital, Zumwalt reportedly told police he was at the residence with his girlfriend when a 6-foot-3 black man shot her out of nowhere, according to the news outlet.
Neither the owner of the home, nor Zumwalt’s girlfriend mentioned the mysterious suspect, according to documents.

Investigators cordon off and investigate the crime scene in Republic, Missouri

In a later interview with police, Zumwalt reportedly started to cry, telling officers his baby was due in three weeks. The woman injured in the incident is not the mother of the child, police said.
According to a probable cause statement filed by police, detectives prodded the truth out of the suspect when the told Zumwalt the shooting appeared to be an accident, which allegedly prompted him to nod.
When asked if he wanted to talk about it, a detective wrote: “(Zumwalt) stated if he talked to me he was ‘fu—-,’ ” , according to court documents, “and if he did not talk to me he was ‘fu—-.’ ”
Zumwalt, in a later interview with police, started crying, saying he didn’t want to lose his freedom because his baby is due in three weeks. – Police said another woman, not the shooting victim, is the mother of Zumwalt’s expected child.
He was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and making a false report. He is currently being held in the Greene County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
Zumwalt in 2009 pleaded guilty to theft and burglary, according to court records. In 2016, he was charged with two counts of rape, four counts of domestic assault and one count of sodomy in connection with a 2015 rape case.
He posted $30,000 bond in December, but was again jailed in May after authorities said he repeatedly went within 1,000 feet of his alleged victim’s home.
A judge then approved a $40,000 bond, which Zumwalt posted a week later.