My Only Child Was Shot and Killed

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TN

My son was at a party and was provoked by neighbors down the street. He approached their house and knocked on the door. He was shot 5 to 6 times and was killed. I have great concerns about lots of events of that evening and NEED to talk to someone who can help validate or negate my concerns. Grand Jury is expected to be in Dec.

alkj said:

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TN

My son was at a party and was provoked by neighbors down the street. He approached their house and knocked on the door. He was shot 5 to 6 times and was killed. I have great concerns about lots of events of that evening and NEED to talk to someone who can help validate or negate my concerns. Grand Jury is expected to be in Dec.

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i am very sorry for your loss.

what exactly is the shooter being charged with?

Not sure. The detective on scene said within hours that he wouldn't be charged...he said my son and 3 of his friends went to the house with baseball bats and my son kicked the door in. The detective said it was justifiable homicide and that it would go to the Grand Jury in August. It happened on July 12th. The shooter is a meth addict that is 25 yrs old and had heart surgery due to the damage the meth caused. My son did not know him. My son was 6' 2 1/2 " tall, 217#. The shooter was 5"10" tall and 220 #. HOWEVER, my son was shot under his left arm and the bullet came out the top of his shoulder (as though he had his hands up), he was shot in the center of his chest, and in his right chest close to the shoulder BUT the bullet was going downward...how does someone shorter shoot him with the bullet going downward. ALSO, he was shot in the back below his rib cage and just above is hip bone and it was going UPWARD. We do not know which shot was in what order. He was also shot in the left index finger and had a graze wound on his left armpit. My son and none of his friends had ANY weapons, according to witnesses and he did NOT kick the door in.

alkj said:

Not sure. The detective on scene said within hours that he wouldn't be charged...he said my son and 3 of his friends went to the house with baseball bats and my son kicked the door in. The detective said it was justifiable homicide and that it would go to the Grand Jury in August. It happened on July 12th. The shooter is a meth addict that is 25 yrs old and had heart surgery due to the damage the meth caused. My son did not know him. My son was 6' 2 1/2 " tall, 217#. The shooter was 5"10" tall and 220 #. HOWEVER, my son was shot under his left arm and the bullet came out the top of his shoulder (as though he had his hands up), he was shot in the center of his chest, and in his right chest close to the shoulder BUT the bullet was going downward...how does someone shorter shoot him with the bullet going downward. ALSO, he was shot in the back below his rib cage and just above is hip bone and it was going UPWARD. We do not know which shot was in what order. He was also shot in the left index finger and had a graze wound on his left armpit. My son and none of his friends had ANY weapons, according to witnesses and he did NOT kick the door in.

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I have nothing to offer you except my deepest condolences. I'm so very sorry for your loss.

(I also lost a child - I truly am sorry)

your situation really is beyond the help of an internet forum.

it would be entirely up to you to get a private consult of an attorney. the end result, it's up the DA to change the charges based on the evidence.

Thanks! I have a copy of the autopsy report and am awaiting a meeting with the DA and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent. I was just trying to get as much information to be able to speak intelligently with them at the meeting.

alkj said:

Not sure. The detective on scene said within hours that he wouldn't be charged...he said my son and 3 of his friends went to the house with baseball bats and my son kicked the door in. The detective said it was justifiable homicide and that it would go to the Grand Jury in August. It happened on July 12th. The shooter is a meth addict that is 25 yrs old and had heart surgery due to the damage the meth caused. My son did not know him. My son was 6' 2 1/2 " tall, 217#. The shooter was 5"10" tall and 220 #. HOWEVER, my son was shot under his left arm and the bullet came out the top of his shoulder (as though he had his hands up), he was shot in the center of his chest, and in his right chest close to the shoulder BUT the bullet was going downward...how does someone shorter shoot him with the bullet going downward. ALSO, he was shot in the back below his rib cage and just above is hip bone and it was going UPWARD. We do not know which shot was in what order. He was also shot in the left index finger and had a graze wound on his left armpit. My son and none of his friends had ANY weapons, according to witnesses and he did NOT kick the door in.

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But he did break in?

While horrible and tragic, most states will consider the armed invasion of one's home as sufficient justification for lethal force. Unless it can be shown that he did NOT break in to the house with his armed friends, I suspect that the killing will still be seen as justifiable.

Are there other indisputable facts that give a different interpretation of events? What do the three friends have to say? Were they arrested?

I am not trying to be cold here....

If four armed men kicked in my door, the only thing that would stop my shooting would be the amount of time it took me to reload.

You are saying that your son had a baseball bat... and that he was shot under the left arm... could he have been holding the bat over his head to strike?

In such situations, it is not unlikely that entry wounds look strange... you have an untrained shooter firing madly at several people... probably from a variety of angles...

I am not saying that is what happened... and I am truly sorry for your loss. However, your son's actions were the true cause of his death.

If four armed people kicked in your door and you had a weapon, would you shoot them?

What happened to the other three men?

My son and NONE of his friends had
ANY weapons. The detective said they did because one the boy who provoked my son and his friends told the detective they did. THEN, days later he said he made it up. There were 3 other males in the house with the shooter. Only my son and a woman were on the porch knocking on the door. They did NOT break in. One of the males opened the door and the shooter started shooting. The detectives interviewed NO neighbors, and not all the people there. They did not do a gun residue test or toxicology on any of the males in the house, including the shooter. The shooter admited to having strapped his gun on his hip and taking shots of liquor two hours prior to the shooting.

It sounds as if the case might be difficult to make if it relies primarily on statements. When you have conflicting statements, you have to then rely on physical evidence. if the physical evidence can be read two ways, you have a problem.

At that point you can work to try and break down the statements of one side or the other getting them to confess to a lie, admit the truth, or catch them in inconsistencies. But, you still have to go before a jury and hope that the defense cannot come up with some rational explanations. Plus, the defense can trip up the prosecution witnesses, too.

As for GSR, it would not appear to be conclusive. He admits to the shooting, and GSR would be present on just about anyone in the room, not just the shooter. Unless there is some debate over who WHOP did the shooting, the GSR test may not be all that relevant. And, absent some legal means to compel a test for toxicology, the police could not FORCE anyone in the house to take a drug test. Even if the tests came back positive, it would onbly prove drug consumption,not impairment and not any element of the shooting.

Maybe the investigation was lacking, maybe it was not. Since I am not privy to it, I can't say. Have you considered speaking to someone higher up at the police department, or asking to speak with the D.A.?

alkj said:

My son and NONE of his friends had
ANY weapons. The detective said they did because one the boy who provoked my son and his friends told the detective they did. THEN, days later he said he made it up. There were 3 other males in the house with the shooter. Only my son and a woman were on the porch knocking on the door. They did NOT break in. One of the males opened the door and the shooter started shooting. The detectives interviewed NO neighbors, and not all the people there. They did not do a gun residue test or toxicology on any of the males in the house, including the shooter. The shooter admited to having strapped his gun on his hip and taking shots of liquor two hours prior to the shooting.

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OP, please tell us exactly what happened and the rough timeline.