The holiday weekend turned tragic for one Plant City-area family, when a teen-age boy shot and killed his father to protect his mother, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
According to Sheriff’s Office reports, Channing Thorpe, 17, called 911 at about 10:15 p.m. Nov. 24, to report a shooting at his home, 7427 Burnt Barn Ave., Antioch.
When officers arrived, they discovered Christopher Thorpe, 36, dead in the master bedroom of the home.
Family members, including Channing Thorpe and Christopher Thorpe, mother Jill Thorpe and grandmother Dorothy Williamson, along with two friends, were outside enjoying a bonfire earlier in the evening. Jill Thorpe went into the home, and then Christopher Thorpe followed her. Once inside, the two began arguing in the living room. Christopher Thorpe began beating his wife, and the violence continued into the master bedroom. He was strangling her when Channing Thorpe came into the bedroom with a handgun. He fired several shots, killing his father. One of the bullets hit Jill Thorpe in the right thigh. She was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center. Christopher Thorpe died at the scene.
There were many firearms in the home; the Thorpes were avid hunters, the Sheriff’s Office report states.
There are no charges at this time, and Channing Thorpe has been released to his mother.SEO