FORNEY, Texas — A Forney-area man was arrested and charged with deadly conduct for discharging a firearm during a incident involving his son, a whip, and the neighbors — an incident which went viral on social media over the weekend.
According to a booking report obtained by inForney.com, through a records request with the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office, 39-year-old Bryan Thomas Brunson was arrested at approximately 7:05 p.m. on Thursday, May 12, 2022. Brunson was charged with deadly conduct, a class A misdemeanor, in connection with the incident.
An inForney.com records request with the Kaufman County Precinct 2 Constable's Office, which conducted the arrest, was forwarded to the Kaufman County District Attorney's Office.
Brunson was released from the Kaufman County Jail after posting a $3,500 bond.
According to videos of the incident which went viral, Brunson's son was captured on Ring doorbell camera video whipping the door of the Nash family's residence. Carissa Nash, the mother of the household, answered the door.
"Little boy you better get your a-- from off my porch, beating on my door like this. I will call the police. You need to leave. Don't you ever beat on my God---- door like that, go!" she can be heard saying.
The Nashes, in video interviews with the media and posted to their family YouTube channel, say Brunson's son was allegedly involved in an earlier incident with a group of other children in which he allegedly used racial slurs. Some of the children responded to those slurs and confronted Brunson's son and a fight broke out between the children.
The Nashes say when their 9-year-old daughter defended herself, it only angered Brunson's son more — a reason they think led him to returning to their house later with the whip.
Both families, in the video of the incident, and interviews with media, admit there had been prior incidents between the two parties and were known to each other.
When the Nashes called 911 to report damage done to their vehicle, allegedly caused by Brunson's son's whip, they say they were told by a responding Precinct 2 deputy the issue would be a civil matter and that the Nashes could make contact with Brunson to either attempt to have the damage covered by the Brunson's insurance, or file a civil suit to reclaim damages.
The Nashes say the deputy who initially responded to the 911 call told them the dispute between neighbors would be resolved soon as the Brunsones were planning to move. No charges could be filed because the boy is nine years old.
When Dezerrea Nash returned home from work, they say they attempted to contact 911 one more time before having to take it upon themselves to make contact with Brunson, who they had seen outside. As they walked over to Brunson's residence, they say he went inside and didn't answer the door for several minutes. Their son told them his father wasn't home through the closed door but, when Brunson did come to the door, he had a firearm in hand.
Following an exchange, Brunson is captured on video placing the firearm on the porch and, as the incident escalated, he goes back to retrieve the firearm when it was discharged. Police say Brunson's daughter was nearby when the firearm discharged and she could have been severely injured or killed — factors which led to the deadly conduct charge.
In their videos with media, the Nashes say they feel law enforcement should have done more to mediate the incident.
Brunson tells WFAA he has retained an attorney and the Nashes say they will seek legal ramifications.
"We want to get this out there to let people know, 'Hey this stuff is still real.' You've just seen what happened in Buffalo, New York," Dezerrea Nash told NBC DFW. "This can escalate very quickly. So we want to avoid that and get this story out there and let them know racism is real and we feel that it was definitely racially motivated."
WARNING: Some readers/viewers may find the following video to contain graphic content.
