Shooter Claims Self-Defense in Overnight Double Fatal Shooting
The 21-year-old shooter involved in a double fatal shooting outside a local fast-food restaurant claims he was protecting himself when he shot two men who were assaulting him as he sat in the backseat of a car in the drive-thru.
Officers responded to reports of shots fired at the Cook Out restaurant on Memorial Blvd. at 1:03 a.m., Saturday, July 8. They found 31-year-old Tony Fuller with a single gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene by personnel with Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services. His 18-year-old brother, Jacob Hawkins, was also shot and taken to the hospital where he died a short time later.
The preliminary investigation shows Fuller and Hawkins first approached the car, with the shooter inside, at a McDonald’s drive-thru on S. Rutherford Blvd. The driver of the car quickly left the scene to get away from them. According to the investigation, the brothers spotted the same car in the Cook Out drive-thru line. Fuller and Hawkins approached the car, and the three men began to argue. The brothers started assaulting the 21-year-old as he sat the in the backseat. He took out his gun and fired, striking them both; he claims in self-defense. The shooter was one of those who called 9-1-1 to report the shooting.
The motive for what started the fight and fatal shooting is still unclear.
“There were several bystanders, who didn’t know any of those involved, who voluntarily told detectives what they witnessed, and some provided video,” said Criminal Investigations Division Crimes Against Persons Unit Lieutenant James Abbott, “The witnesses’ account is consistent with the shooter’s claims and with the evidence we collected at the scene.”
No charges were filed against the shooter at this time pending further investigation.
