A teenager who witnessed a dispute between his parents turn violent fatally shot his father in a desperate attempt to save his mother's life, police in Florida say.
The fight between Christopher and Jill Thorpe began Saturday evening during a bonfire party in Plant City, Fox News reports. The couple went inside of a mobile home and an argument ensued.
"He was beating her, [he] kept punching her," said Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Debbie Carter, according to Fox. "Then they went from the living room to the master bedroom where he kept beating her."
The couple's 17-year-old son, Channing Thorpe, ran into the mobile home where he discovered his father strangling his mother, police say. The teen used a handgun to fire several shots at his father to kill him, WTSP reports.
The boy's mother suffered a bullet wound to the thigh, the Tampa Tribune reports. She received treatment at a nearby hospital and was later released.
Hugh Williamson, who lives a few doors down from where the incident took place, was saddened by the violence.
"You hate to wake up and hear things like that much less in your own neighborhood," Williamson told MyFoxTampa.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office are still investigating the matter. Channing Thorpe was left in the custody of his mother. He is not facing charges.
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