An Alabama mom shot and killed a man who was acting "out of his mind," and allegedly trying to set a house on fire with the mom, her 8-year-old daughter and 80-year-old uncle still inside the residence.
The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office said deputies reported to a home in the town of Grand Bay at about midnight on Saturday to a report of a single shot fired, WPMI reported. Upon arrival, they found Oliver Turner dead from a gunshot wound.
The owner of the home, 80-year-old Lee Eubanks, told investigators that Turner was a friend who had been staying with him for a few days. The day of Turner’s death, he had been "drinking heavily and acting belligerently," Eubanks told police, according to AL.com. He added that Turner was increasingly acting "our of his mind."
Michelle Jones, who lived at the residence with her daughter, told police that she arrived home on Saturday evening and found Turner acting belligerently, and also discovered the exterior of the home was on fire.
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She told police that she tried to go to bed that evening, but that Turner allegedly dragged her into a bathroom and tried to pour acetone on her. She fled, and placed her daughter outside in her car.
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She ran back in the home to retrieve a revolver for protection, she told authorities. Upon leaving her bedroom, Turner allegedly approached her, and she fired one shot at him out of fear for her life, AL.com reported.
"Not just the case of self-defense for her, but deadly force is justified under certain circumstances where you’re defending others as well. And that’s what she was doing. She was defending not only herself, but her daughter and her … uncle was still inside the house. He was hell-bent on setting the house on fire is what she was thinking at the time," Mobile County Sheriff Office Lt. Mark Bailey told WALA.
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Investigators said they found scratch marks on Jones’ neck and a minor injury to Jones' hand, consistent with what she told authorities in her statement.
The sheriff’s office said Tuner was no stranger to law enforcement, citing an extensive criminal history, including an arrest in 2021 for 1st degree arson.
The sheriff's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for updates on the case. Once the investigation is concluded, the case will be brought before a grand jury, according to AL.com.
