DECATUR, Tenn. — Police said an injured central Tennessee man has killed his uncle in a shootout over a prized fighting rooster.
District Attorney Russell Johnson’s office said in a news release Thursday that the body of 52-year-old Timothy D. Johnson was found outside a Decatur mobile home early Wednesday morning.
The dead man’s nephew, 27-year-old Larry E. Johnson Jr., was also shot. He is being treated in an intensive care unit.
Larry Johnson told investigators his uncle had confronted him, accusing him of stealing the gamecock. The nephew says Timothy Johnson drew a gun, and as the two fought for the weapon, the gun went off, striking the younger man in the chest. Larry Johnson said he fired back with his own gun, killing his uncle.
Officials haven’t determined whether Larry Johnson will be charged.