Posted on 09/09/2009 6:13:20 AM PDT by Bodleian_Girl
On Tuesday morning, 14-year-old Ta’veon Tashawn Mason should have been at his desk at Austin High School, but he and two friends skipped school.
Police said the ninth-grader died in a Southwest Decatur backyard from a single gunshot wound. A press release said a resident shot him inside the house during a burglary at about 10:30 a.m.
Noel Mclean at 1432 Fifth Ave. S.W. said he shot Mason. He said he was awakened by the intruders and he shot out of fear.
One of three suspects
Lt. Jonathan Green, public information officer, said Mason was one of three teen boys suspected in the break-in.
Police said the trio broke a window at the back of the house and entered.
“The homeowner was asleep inside and was awakened by the intruders,” said Sgt. Rick Archer, supervisor of the Violent Crimes Unit. “He retrieved a handgun and confronted them.”
Archer said the man fired one shot, striking Mason, and the two other teens fled the house. Outside the home, a white sheet covered Mason’s body as it lay in the grass near the window where police said the break-in occurred.
Officer David Shutt caught a 16-year-old male soon after the shooting, and detectives found the third teen, 14, at his home later Tuesday afternoon, Archer said. The 14 and 16-year-olds are Austin High School students, but the 16-year-old is in the alternative school program, sources told The Daily.
Police charged both teens with second-degree burglary, booked them into Decatur City Jail and later transferred them to the Tennessee Valley Juvenile Detention Center in Tuscumbia. They will soon face a detention hearing, Archer said.
The Department of Forensic Sciences in Huntsville will perform an autopsy on Mason’s body, police said. Sharpley Funeral Home in Decatur will handle arrangements.
Detectives questioned the homeowner about the shooting, but Archer said police did not file any charges in connection with Mason’s death.
The investigation is ongoing, police said.
The shooting caused school administrators to place nearby Brookhaven Middle School on a modified lockdown, said Phil Hastings, supervisor of safety and alternative education.
Brookhaven Principal Larry Collier said the modified lockdown lasted about 30 minutes without incident. Under a modified lockdown, school officials lock all outside doors and do not let anyone exit or enter while classes continue on schedule.
Decatur police and the Madison County Sheriff’s Department crime scene technicians spent most of the day combing the house and backyard for evidence, Green said.
Police requested the Madison County Sheriff’s Department to assist in the investigation because they have three-dimensional crime scene rendering technology that would better help detectives determine what happened.
“Ta’veon Tashawn Mason “
Say no more.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here but, might he be black? Funny they don't mention that part.
And no I'm not being racist, it's just what it is.
Should have listened to Obama: stay in school.
I think Van Jones would be quick to point out that this kid wasn’t at his high school shooting people. Instead, he and two of his buddies were robbing someone in their own home. Nice.,
Very unusual name for an Amish kid, but these are the times we live in.
The end of another badly named kid gone wrong.
What kind of name has a freaking apostrophe in it? Is Ta’veon supposed to be some bastardization of Octavian? Ans isa every other normal sounding name have to have ‘Ta’ added to it so it’ll sound more ...ethnic?
Who was the former player?
You noticed that eh? ...
Fat fingers + coffee overload makes for poor typing.
Good shot.
If they found his bullet-riddled corpse at the scene, they should be more than suspicious.
Reggie Smith.
I had never heard of him, but that doesn’t mean anything....
Does it matter?
Punt returner, 1980 team.
He was a pretty good football player.Obviously a crummy father.
..start first by saying "hey bit*h"..then proceed if your talking to a female.....or "hey dawg" if a homie, then ignore anything said in return
There is a weird thing going on. When a white person is at large after committing a crime, the radio puts out something like “...suspect is caucasion, approximately 5'11”, etc.,”. When a non-caucasion is at large after committing a crime, the same radio station states “suspect is male, approximately 5'11”, etc.”
WTF?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.