Teen Charged With Attempted Murder in Father's Shooting

NASHVILLE, TN — Detectives with the Metro Nashville Police Department have charged a 15-year-old boy with the attempted murder of his father, the police announced Monday. They filed the charges after officers responded just after 10 p.m. Sunday to the boy's house in the 3200 block of Cocoa Drive, in response to a 911 call from the teenager.

The officers found Scottie Bailey Sr., 46, in his bedroom suffering from a gunshot wound to his forehead, according to a police report. Bailey was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he was listed Monday in critical, life-threatening condition.

In addition to attempted murder, the 15-year-old has been charged with unlawful handgun possession, evidence tampering and crack cocaine possession, the police said.

The police did not release the juvenile's name Monday, but in a statement, they expressed skepticism about his account of the incident. Under questioning by detectives, they said, his story "evolved during the night."

In his final account, the 15-year-old said that he went into his father’s bedroom to look at a gun in the dresser. The pistol accidentally fired, he claimed, striking his father in the forehead.

The juvenile said he then took a shower, changed clothes, cleaned his room and drove to Antioch to visit a friend.

"For more than three hours, he never called for an ambulance or police until he returned home with the friend," the police said.

They said the pistol believed to have been used in the shooting "was found in the console of a vehicle." They did not identify the vehicle or provide further information on the pistol.

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