From News4Jax.com:
A man who pulled the trigger, fatally shooting a 17-year-old early Monday, said he acted in self-defense.
Investigators said 28-year-old Robert Brown told them his car was being followed by another vehicle with several people inside and that he thought they wanted to rob him.
Homicide investigators said Brown thought he was being followed and pulled into the parking lot, followed into the parking lot by three people in a minivan. When they got out of the van and approached Brown’s car with a gun, he shot one of the subjects in the chest, police said.
“It was either him or me,” Brown told Channel 4. “There was not even time to think twice. There was no time. They were strictly about their business. I needed to try and get up out of this.”
Brown said he was afraid he was going to die Monday morning and that was why he fired his gun, hitting Tommy Lee Kennedy.
“I looked in the rear view mirror, I see some lights blocking my car in and I see the passenger door open and the sliding door open. Two dudes hopped out, one went directly to my window with a gun, arm pointed straight,” Brown said. “You know, God said it isn’t my time to go right now.”
Kennedy died at the scene, and two other young men fled the scene, according to police.
“We don’t know what happened regarding the other two people — we know the other two people fled in a van,” Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Derrick Lewis said.
Authorities said that they are looking for a dark van with tinted windows.
Kennedy’s sister, Tamika Kennedy, and the teen’s friends said they couldn’t understand why their loved one was killed.
“He is a good person. He takes care of his responsibility, I mean,” Tamika Kennedy said. “My brother never meant to hurt nobody.”
Police took Brown downtown for questioning and he was later released.
So here we have a 28-year-old who is driving home one night. He noticed a van following him. He pulled into a parking lot. The van pulled in behind him.
Three people get out of the van and approach him, at least one of which had a gun. What he didn’t know is that the one with a gun had already been arrested in 2004 on a charge of grand theft.
The guy fired his weapon, killing 17-year-old Tommy Lee Kennedy. That would indicate that good ‘ole Tommy was only 14 when he was arrested in 2004 on a charge of grand theft. Nice, huh?
But here come poor Tommy’s relatives and friends. “He is a good person. He takes care of his responsibility, I mean. My brother never meant to hurt nobody.” Really? Then why did he follow, and approach a stranger, while illegally carrying a gun? What was the gun for? And if he’s such a quality individual can you explain why he was arrested when he was only 14 years old for grand theft?
Kennedy’s sister, Tamika Kennedy, and the teen’s friends said they couldn’t understand why their loved one was killed? Gee, I don’t know either. Do you think it could have had something to do with him approaching a stranger late at night, after following him around, and illegally carrying a gun during the commission of a crime? Do you think, just maybe, that Robert Brown might have feared for his life? Do you think you would have been a bit scared if you were in the same situation?
Guess what, Tamika Kennedy, it’s just that kind of language that empowers and emboldens criminals like your loser brother. You, yourself, are partially responsible for what happened that night. Your brother was preparing to use deadly force to either rob or kill someone he didn’t even know, and you sit there making excuses for him.
Unbelievable.
This is EXACTLY why I carry a concealed weapon everywhere I go, and so does my wife.
Robert Brown, gun, Tommy Lee Kennedy, Jacksonville
