BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — A Minnesota man is accused of fatally shooting his wife and wounding two next-door neighbors, including a 12-year-old girl, authorities said.

Jason Michael Mesich, 48, of Bloomington, was charged with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder, KTSP reported. Mesich is accused of fatally shooting his wife, Angela Mesich, 47, in the family garage, the Star-Tribune of Minneapolis reported. Jason Mesich then allegedly took aim at his neighbors, who were loading a moving truck to take their belongings to a new home in Bloomington, the newspaper reported.

Makayla Saulter-Outlaw, 12, remained in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head, the Star-Tribune reported. According to police, the girl used her body to shield her 1-year-old niece from gunfire.

As the bullets flew, “Makayla is carrying Winter, cradling her in her arms,” the Rev. Marcia Westbrook, who is a great-aunt to Makayla and 1-year-old Winter Burrows, told the newspaper. “She fell and stopped her from getting shot, and she got shot in the head.”

Makayla’s sister, Canisha Saulter, 29, is recovering after gunfire shattered her hip and an ankle, family members told the newspaper.

Jason Mesich exchanged multiple rounds of gunfire with police before he was apprehended.

Mesich told investigators he did not remember much about the shooting but said the gunfire erupted after he got into an argument with his wife, WCCO reported. According to a police report, Angela Mesich took a swing at her husband, who countered by hitting her with both fists in the collar bone.

Jason Mesich said his wife said something like “just shoot me, then,” according to the complaint. Asked how many times he shot her, he said, “I probably emptied it. … I want to make sure she is dead.”

Mesich said the sisters next door “were not good neighbors” and told police “he hated all children,” KARE reported.

Westbrook said her family was puzzled about why Mesich fired at them, because they had not interacted with him during their three-plus years as neighbors.

“He was just a shooting crazy person,” Westbrook told the Star-Tribune. “I don’t think they even spoke.”

Mesich is currently in the Hennepin County Jail. He could face up to 80 years in prison if convicted of the charges, WCCO reported.

Westbrook started a GoFundMe page to help with the sisters’ medical expenses.

Cox Media Group