Man charged with fatally shooting woman, injuring child

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man is in jail after being accused of fatally shooting a woman and injuring her son Monday night in Tipton County.

Donald Ray Parker Jr., 52, is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and aggravated stalking.

The deceased victim has been identified as 44-year-old Kristen Johnson.

According to Tipton County Sheriff Shannon Beasley, on April 22 around 11:15 p.m., deputies responded to the area of east Tipton County on Billings Drive and McGowan Drive.

A child was reportedly shot and knocked on neighborhood doors asking for help.

“He was saying that he had been shot, that he was inside of the house with his mom and that he was scared and he didn’t know what to do,” neighbor Molly Southerland said. “(He was) basically just freaking out and wanted some help.”

When deputies arrived, the child stated the man who shot him was still at his house with his mother. Her condition was unknown at that time.

The teen was shot in the hand and is expected to make a full recovery.

That is when deputies surrounded the child’s home and saw the male suspect moving around in the home. Deputies say they spoke to the suspect through the front door but he refused to come out.

Deputies and the suspect began to talk over the phone, and after 45 minutes of negotiations, the suspect came out of the home and surrendered.

The man, later identified as Parker, was taken into custody.

The female victim was pronounced dead inside the home due to a gunshot wound.

“You’ve got to stop and pray for the 16-year-old son who is now going to grow up the rest of his life without his mother,” Beasley said. “And unfortunately, her life was taken in a domestic violence situation.”

Deputies say the suspect confessed to his actions.

“Ray Parker had actually parked his vehicle about 200-300 yards down the road in an obvious attempt to hide where he could sneak up on the home,” Beasley said.

Sheriff Beasley released the following statement in a Facebook post regarding the case:

“This is a very sad and awful situation. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ms. Johnson’s family and especially her son as he mourns the loss of his mother and recovers from his own wounds. Ray Parker will now answer for his actions and I hope he has the rest of his life in prison to think about the decisions he has made that have forever changed this family. I want to commend our deputies for their response and handling of this volatile situation and negotiating the suspect out of the home and the diligent work our detectives did in processing this scene.”

WREG learned on Tuesday that this was not the first time Parker was charged with a crime.

In 2013, we reported an incident in the Dogwood Manor Subdivision of Olive Branch.

A repairman came to Parker’s home to complete a job, but when Parker answered the door, he was allegedly drunk and angrily waving a gun around.

When police arrived, Parker pointed the gun at them and they fired. Parker was sent to Regional One Hospital with gunshot wounds.

11-years-later, Parker is due in court facing murder and attempted murder charges.

He is due back in court on Wednesday morning.

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