An Independence man is headed to prison for a decade after a 2025 shooting that left another man in critical condition and touched off a debate over whether a gun can really just "go off" twice in a row. Joshua W. Perry told investigators the weapon fired "spontaneously" two times, but witness accounts and court filings describe a violent struggle, multiple shots and a victim who needed emergency surgery and about five weeks in the hospital.
Plea and sentence
Perry pleaded guilty in April to a single count of unlawful use of a weapon causing an injury and received a 10-year prison sentence, according to The Kansas City Star. Court records cited by the outlet show prosecutors agreed to drop armed criminal action and first-degree burglary charges under a plea deal. The agreement wrapped up a case clouded by dueling stories about who pulled the trigger and why. According to RSMo Section 571.030, "Unlawful use of weapons is a class D felony" (with specified exceptions listed in the statute).
What investigators say happened
According to court filings reviewed by local reporters, the shooting unfolded at a home in Independence on March 12, 2025. Witnesses told police that Perry showed up at the residence, forced his way inside after being warned he could be shot and ended up wrestling over a gun, KCTV5 reported. Investigators say Perry was hit in the hand during the struggle, then got control of the firearm and shot the victim before later calling 911 to report his own injury. Those probable-cause statements formed the backbone of the original burglary, assault and armed-criminal-action allegations.
Victim injuries and contested explanation
Documents and reporting cited by The Kansas City Star say the victim suffered a lacerated liver, a punctured lung and a fractured arm, required emergency surgery and remained hospitalized for roughly five weeks. Perry told detectives the gun "went off spontaneously" while the victim was sitting on the ground and then fired again as Perry checked on him, according to court filings. The Kansas City Star described the plea agreement and separately reported the court filings and the victim’s injuries.
Some accounts cite City of Independence crime-report figures to describe recent local trends, but the specific percentages and counts presented here do not appear in the Kansas City Star or KCTV reporting cited above. Likewise, the particular percentage changes attributed to the FBI's Crime Data Explorer are not included in those two local news stories.
