A South Carolina teenager shot and killed his father and his 83-year-old great aunt, and critically wounded his 80-year-old grandmother before he called police to report the attack.
The shootings happened Monday night in a house on a wooded stretch of road near railroad tracks in the northwestern part of the state. All three shooting victims were shot in the head, Spartanburg Public Safety Capt. Art Littlejohn said.
The 14-yr-old has not been charged and his name has not been released. The audio of the 911 call also has not been made public.
The closest neighbour is an auto shop that houses a combination of car-related businesses where the teen would play most days after school with the 9-year-old nephew of one of the business owners.
“I’m sort of devastated with the whole thing because I don’t understand it,” said Barry Taylor, 61, who lives behind his son’s towing business where the teen played. “He was such a nice little boy.”
When police arrived at the house, the teen came out with his hands up and was taken into custody, Littlejohn said. A .22 rifle – a gift from his father – was found inside the home and authorities suspected it was used in the shootings.
“He had too much freedom with that gun,” said Dee Krind, 47, owner of Superior Collision. “Fourteen years old, you are not supposed to have no freedom with a gun like that.”
Taylor said the boy’s father had given him the gun so they could go hunting together. Taylor described the father as a caring man, who also gave his son a motorised cart and a bicycle, and made sure he didn’t impose on Taylor’s hospitality.
“Now I’m starting to wonder was that his only retreat from something,” Taylor said of the time he played at the auto shop. “Was something going on over there that he was trying to get away from?”
Relatives, neighbours and officials at the teen’s school told investigators they had not noticed any behavioural problems, Littlejohn said. No other children live at the home.
The men at the towing business said they were worried about what will happen to the boy, who they described as slight for his age with one arm shorter than the other. They said the teen had a white dog with black spots that followed him around every where.
“He just liked riding his bike and having fun – little boy things,” said Jesse Brown, 45, owner of Nick’s Detail and Automotive. “He was a good little kid, he just wanted a little attention.”
Be the first to comment