The father's devastated wife revealed that months before the tragedy, the pair had spoken to the teen bully's parents, but nothing changed. This was the concerned father's second attempt at confrontation.
A good father would do anything to keep their kids safe from all kinds of worldly problems. They are also the ones who hold their child's hands and help them pass a hurdle bravely. A father paid a heavy price for doing his duties and being there for his daughter.
Brandon Curtis, a father-of-five, was killed on Friday, January 22, in Texas. He was shot to death by a relative of a boy who had been troubling his daughter online. All he wanted was to talk to the boy's parents, according to his family. ABC13 reported that the whole ordeal took place after Brandon took his 15-year-old daughter and son to speak to the alleged bully's parents at their home.
The 20-year-old man, identified as Jeremiah Richardson, who shot the 35-year-old father, said that things went haywire after Brandon hit his brother, accused of bullying the daughter. Jeremiah then took out his gun and shot Brandon. However, he claims that it was all an act of defense.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzales also echoed the suspect and said that it was Brandon who began the violent altercation by attacking the kid following which Jeremiah shot the father several times, as per KHOU-TV.
Update to shooting at Spring Brook Pass: Brandon Curtis, an adult male, had gone to the location w his juvenile daughter so she could fight other juveniles. During the fight, several other people, including juveniles became involved in the fight. Curtis joined the fight & is https://t.co/jrYqJHLf6T
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) January 23, 2021
Brandon's family, however, denied all these claims. His widow, Shantal Harris, said, “I don’t feel like it’s right to let that come out like that… I’m angry about it. I know my husband. My husband is not like that.” Brandon's sister, Jeran Perkins, also added that the claims were all false. “My brother would never put a hand on a child,” she said. “We want justice.”
Shantal backed the notion of her husband's innocence by revealing the months-long harassment her daughter had been subjected to. She disclosed that months before the tragic incident, she and Brandon had spoken to the teen boy's parents, informing him that the boy had been bullying their daughter for 9 months. She also shared some explicit texts with ABC13 that the couple's teen daughter had received from the alleged bully.
“When he left from here, my husband went to go resolve the issue," Shantal said recalling the day Brandon left to confront the teen, along with his daughter and son. "He wanted to go speak to the parent.” However, the father never got to speak to the parents. He passed away on the crime scene because of the fatal gunshots.
Noting the text message her daughter received over the weekend that read, “We all had a fight and killed dey [sic] daddy,” the grieving wife also added, “For them to claim self-defense, it’s sickening." Brandon's sister further added, "They think it's a joke."
His wife said their 15-year-old daughter has been bullied on social media by the same teen boy for nine months. She said her dad deserves justice. https://t.co/aOfx0iCrwF
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) January 26, 2021
Now, the late commercial truck driver's family wants the shooter to be charged. However, according to the sheriff's office, Jeremiah has not been charged yet and the case will be referred to a Harris County grand jury.
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