Suspect In Cracker Barrel Shooting Charged With Capital Murder

TRUSSVILLE, AL - After a man was shot during a dispute in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Trussville, a suspect has been charged with capital murder. Randy Young, 40, was pronounced dead at UAB Hospital at 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

The shooting happened shortly before 9:30 p.m. Thursday at the restaurant on Norrell Drive. Trussville police dispatched to the scene found Young on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head. An Alabama Media Group report said Bryan Patrick Hancock, 22, was charged Monday with capital murder.

Trussville police Chief Eric Rush said the shooting stemmed from a dispute in the parking lot. It began, he said, when the two suspects parked in a manner that blocked in the victim’s vehicle. “An argument ensued, and it escalated to the point that the victim was shot by one of the suspects,’’ Rush said.

Young was at the restaurant with his stepfather. His brother, Brandon Young, told the Trussville Tribune that their stepfather was outside when a car pulled up at an angle, blocking the exit.

The driver exited the vehicle and went into the restaurant, leaving the passenger – Hancock - in the car. As Randy Young exited the restaurant, Hancock reportedly used a racial slur toward him. The situation escalated quickly, and Randy Young was shot.

There has been no confirmation as to whether or not the crime will be prosecuted as a hate crime, but the suspect’s stepfather, who is black, on Sunday defended his son and said the shooting was not a hate crime.

"I think once the DA and judge get to see the actual evidence, they will know that it was not a racial incident and my son was acting in self-defense,’’ he said. “The truth will come. I stand behind my son 100 percent. I’m not going to have his name ruined behind something like this."

Hancock is now being held without bond.