Family Batters Man for Shooting Father Inside Church Over Obituary at Brother's Funeral
A 25-year-old man was reportedly thrashed by his family members after he shot his own father in the abdomen at his younger brother's funeral inside a Baltimore City church on Tuesday because his name was left off the obituary.
The man, Antonio Addison, 25, of the 1600 block of Walterswood Road, was charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault and related charges, for shooting his 47-year-old father, according to The Baltimore Sun.
Local news station WBAL-TV reports that police were called around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday to the New Song Worship and Arts Center in the 1600 block of North Calhoun Street, where the funeral was being held for Antonio Addison's 22-year-old brother, who also bears the same name. He was fatally shot May 25 on North Carey Street.
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Baltimore police Director T.J. Smith said Addison and his father got into an argument which The Baltimore Sun said was over an obituary written by a family member for the deceased Addison. The brother's name was omitted, according to Charles Addison, the brothers' grandfather.
"The suspect in this case decided to pull out a gun he brought to this event and shot his own father," Smith told WBAL-TV.
"This is a funeral, this is something where you're supposed to be celebrating the life of your loved one," Smith further noted to ABC 2. "And a loved one brought a gun to this celebration of life, and used it against a family member. So there's not much you can do against that type of absolutely senseless act."
"You can't really control some things, some things are out of your control. The police are around here all the time but they can't do anything about it," neighborhood resident Calvin Hughes added.
The grandfather who had blood splattered across the white-themed clothes he wore for the funeral said the shooting sparked pandemonium.
"It's not mine," he told the Sun of the blood as he smoked a Newport cigarette. "This place was full of children. They ran out the back and I ran out the front."
Addison was later taken into custody and he appeared to be crying as police loaded him into a transport van.
His face appeared swollen and bruised in a mug shot released by the police department which said his injuries were the result of a fight with his family members after the shooting.
"I really can't even describe how unnecessary and senseless this situation is," Smith told the Sun. "There's still food on the table inside."
The father remains in stable condition with non life-threatening injuries while Addison is being held at the Central Booking Intake Facility.
Police were quick to highlight that the family's argument was unrelated to the death of the younger Addison.
