Background: News coverage of the Ruskin, Fla. residence linked to the alleged shooting involving Christopher Lee Brown (WTVT). Inset: Christopher Lee Brown (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office).
A Florida man was charged with several felonies after he allegedly opened fire on his own sons — reportedly over a fight about a family car.
Christopher Lee Brown, 36, was taken into custody on Sunday following allegations that he shot his three sons, all minors. As reported by court documents accessed by local Fox affiliate WTVT, deputies from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting report around 11:15 a.m. on Sunday in Brown’s Ruskin neighborhood. Upon arrival, deputies discovered Brown’s three sons wounded by gunfire.
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All three boys were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and survived. Their names and ages were not released.
The documents reveal that detectives explored the shooting incident, noting the conflict originated from a dispute over a car. Authorities indicated that Brown allegedly confronted his sons, with the argument intensifying and leading to the reported shooting of the three boys.
WTVT reported that Brown allegedly hit one of the boys in the head with the gun, which set the weapon off, sending a bullet across the boy’s jawline and hitting his earlobe. Brown reportedly ran to get into his car while the other two boys chased him. According to the documents, Brown then allegedly fired several shots at the other two boys.
Court documents also stated that one of the boys played investigators a recording from their father left after the alleged shooting, where he said, “I tried to take your life” and “You won’t make it to Wednesday.”
According to WTVT, the state attorney’s office has filed a pretrial motion to keep Brown in custody until trial.
Brown now faces a lengthy list of felony charges — three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, three counts of aggravated battery with great bodily harm or deadly weapon, being a felon in possession of a firearm, discharging a firearm in public or residential property, two counts of burglary of an occupied dwelling, resisting an officer without violence, and criminal mischief (more than $200, less than $1,000).
