MEMPHIS, Tenn.– New details are emerging after a shooting in Ripley, Tennessee left one person dead and three people, including the alleged gunman, injured Tuesday.
Brandi Driver-Jones said she had just left the house when she got the worst call of her life.
“I never thought in a million years, never,” she said.
Holding back tears, she is still in disbelief that her 18-year-old son Donell Barbee Jr. was gunned down in his childhood clubhouse behind their home on Spivey Street.
“An innocent bystander got killed for nothing. My son is gone. He had dreams and hopes and now he’s gone,” Driver-Jones said.
Police said 19-year-old Kylan Beard kicked in the door to the shed and fired multiple shots, killing Barbee and injuring two juveniles who relatives identify as a female friend and her male cousin.
Investigators said Beard was found 20 yards from the shed with a gunshot to the leg.
Next to him was an AK-47 with a loaded magazine that matched shell casings on the scene. He was flown to Regional One for treatment.
“There was a young man over there with him that was into with some known gang members apparently word got back he was over here, and they just came and knew he was here and shot the place up,” said Tiffany Driver, Barbee’s aunt.
Driver-Jones said her mother, children, and grandbabies were all home when shots rang out.
Donell’s mother said he was a good kid and was recently offered a management position at a local fast-food restaurant.
His coworkers put up a tribute to show love to Barbee and his family.
The tragedy comes 19 years after his mother says her brother and another family member were murdered at the same home.
Leaning on loved ones, she’s calling for the bloodshed to end.
“Put the guns down. It’s senseless. All y’all kids out here killing each other,” Driver-Jones said.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has been requested to assist with the investigation.
The family said they believe there are other suspects.
Beard is facing multiple charges including murder, several counts of attempted first-degree murder, and burglary.