A 25-year-old Missouri man says he mistook his mother for an intruder before shooting her to death at their home’s back door.
Prosecutors have charged Jaylen Johnson with manslaughter and armed criminal action in connection with the shooting death on Thursday of his mother, Monica McNichols-Johnson.
McNichols-Johnson’s shooting death came less than a year after another shooting in Missouri saw Ralph Yarl, then 16, get shot on 13 April by 84-year-old Andrew Lester after ringing the wrong doorbell while picking up his siblings.
Lester also claimed he believed he was facing an intruder when he fired at the teenager through a glass door. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action.
The Yarl case reignited debate in the US over lax firearms laws which make gun owners feel as if they can use their weapons without legal peril to themselves.
Missouri has a “stand your ground” law, which means people can legally deploy deadly force if they reasonably believe they are at risk of violent attack.
Johnson’s attorney, William Goldstein, told the St Louis Post-Dispatch that Johnson believed his mother was a burglar when she tried to enter their home in the St Louis suburb of Olivette at about 7.30am on Thursday.
Olivette police said McNichols-Johnson, 56, died at the house, even though Johnson’s girlfriend tried to help her after she was shot.
Goldstein said Johnson immediately called 911 after he shot his mother, and he has been distraught ever since.
“He hasn’t stopped crying,” Goldstein said.
After being charged, Johnson’s bail was set at $100,000. He is a former college football player who is employed and has no criminal history, Golstein said.
Goldstein also said Johnson kept a gun for protection after having been robbed at gunpoint before.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
