Police: Va. dad lured son home, then shot him
Published: June 29, 2009
AXTON, Va. (AP) — A college student who was wounded in a shooting that killed his mother and brother told police his father lured him to the family’s house in southwest Virginia. The father later killed himself, authorities said.
Timothy Carter, 22, remained in fair condition Monday at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., according to a hospital spokeswoman.
Authorities said the father, William Ronald Carter, shot his wife, Bonnie, 56, and their 29-year-old son William Ronald Carter Jr. early Sunday. Sheriff Lane Perry said the father shot and wounded Timothy, who was able to escape, and then killed himself before authorities arrived at the burning home.
The three bodies were discovered shortly after midnight in the basement of the home in Axton. The fire is being investigated as an arson, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
The sheriff’s office said Timothy Carter told investigators that his father, who was 56, lured him into the basement and shot him as he was walking down the steps. He was shot a second time as he escaped.
Timothy Carter fled to the home of a neighbor, Deborah Akers. She told The Roanoke Times that Carter said that his father had called him at Radford University, about 85 miles away, and told him there was something wrong with his older brother and that he needed to come home right way,
“He said, ‘Daddy lied to me,‘ and that he lured him back home,“ Akers said.
Deputies recovered a rifle from the scene.
Akers told FOX8 News that Timothy Carter came beating on her door saying, “somebody’s after me, my dad’s after me to shoot me.“
She said she let him in and called 911.
“When he got inside, he said his dad had killed his mother and oldest brother and that he had trapped him,“ said Akers.
“I’ve known them my whole life, even when I was in school,“ she said of the family “They’ve always been such nice, Christian people. Good people.“
Police did not release a motive.
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Reader Reactions
Frutecak—Tim was supposed to go out with some of his friends, including I believe my son ,when he received the call from his father that there had been a family emergency.
His father shot him in the back and in the neck from the back with a combination rifle shotgun when Tim went downstairs to check on his mother.
I understand that the police have a note written to a relative by the father about this. I also understand that the police said he had “put his affairs in order” before he shot everyone. It has been reported that the police stated this was not done on a whim, but planned.
Tim will be dealing horror beyond imagining for the rest of his life. To throw out innuendo is not something as benign as merely “adding to this young man’s pain.“ It is more akin to throwing gasoline on a life that has been torched.
I would like to make a suggestion. In something as horrific as this incident, it may be a good idea to search the web just a bit before posting these kinds of questions. It is wonderful to have a curious mind and to want to know the truth, but one needs to temper that with humanity and compassion.
Here is one article with more detail than the AP release:
http://www.dailymail.com/News/NationandWorld/200906290637?page=2&build=cache
It is not my wish to cause further pain to this young man however I do not understand if this has just taken place, why so many including the police are talking so much to the press before a proper investigation has been done, things are not always what they seem.
Why did the police mention that they found a gun at the scene, that’s evidence, was the call to the son verified, how was the crime scene pieced together can you show on the graphic sketch by evidence what took place, why all of a sudden did Dad shoot, and if he did reach this point of mind, why would he care about setting the house on fire to cover evidence, at what point did the bullets enter the body, were there fingerprints on the gun, were there no neighbors in close proximity to this property that heard all these shots.
Did anyone check the gas or electric meters in the home or other appliances to see when they had last been run and how much, why wasn’t all of this done before all of this was in the press.
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