A Missouri man has been charged after he allegedly shot his mother to death and told police that he thought she was an intruder trying to come through the back door of her own home.
Jaylen Johnson, 25, was jailed in lieu of a $100,000 bond and faces charges of voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action, prosecutors said.
The shooting happened March 7 in the St. Louis suburb of Olivette as 56-year-old Monica McNichols-Johnson arrived home on Huron Drive around 7:30 a.m.
When Johnson walked through the back door, police said the man opened fire, leaving his mom mortally wounded.
The shooter called 911 immediately as his girlfriend scrambled to deliver first aid.
Paramedics also attempted to resuscitate the victim, but it was too late, and McNichols-Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police did not say how many shots were fired or how many times the victim was hit.
The younger Johnson was reportedly distraught over what happened.
“He hasn’t stopped crying,” said William Goldstein, the man’s lawyer, who spoke to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Johnson lived with his mother, and there were no prior domestic incidents involving the pair, according to authorities.
Goldstein stated that the man kept a gun in the house for protection following a robbery in which he was held at gunpoint.
He has no known criminal history.
Several news outlets reported that Johnson is a former college football player, but Atlanta Black Star could not independently confirm his connection to any athletic program.
Meanwhile, Johnson’s attorney characterized the shooting as an accident.
“It’s just tragic,” Goldstein told FOX 2 St. Louis. “Jaylen loved his mother, and his mother loved him.”
The incident remains under investigation.
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