‘Questions are still unanswered’: Polk County mother mourns son’s shooting death
LAKE WALES, Fla. (WFLA) — Hundreds gathered Wednesday to honor the life of Vincent Thomas Jr., as investigators try to figure out whether the man who shot him acted in self-defense.
“If you would’ve been to the hospital last night, you would’ve seen it was packed from wall to wall,” Thomas’ mother Chiara Bien-Aime said. “At the end of the day, we [are] all going to miss him.”
“I just want my son to know I love him,” she said. “We [are] not gonna stop until we get to the bottom of this.”
To the bottom of how exactly her son was killed.
Deputies said Thomas and three of his friends showed up at the 20-year-old shooter’s house at about 7 p.m. Tuesday. That’s when investigators said Thomas got out of the car and pulled out a gun, threatening to use it.
“It was a bit of a chaotic scene when we got there,” said Carrie Horstman, a Polk County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. “We have this guy saying, ‘Hey, this guy tried to kill me, so I shot him.'”
“The victim didn’t call 911,” she said. “His friends didn’t call 911.”
The question now is if detectives say the shooter is claiming self-defense, does this become a stand your ground case?
“From this point forward, we have to determine was he shooting at Mr. Thomas in self-defense,” Horstman said. “That is something we will confer with the state attorney’s office to decide whether we are going to charge that man or not.”
It’s a decision leaving those who loved Thomas without answers.
“I can’t even be answering half of the questions my kids be asking me sometimes because it’s hard,” Bien-Aime said. “It’s been hard because the questions are still unanswered.”
Investigators said two of Thomas’s friends have been arrested for lying to detectives and tampering with evidence.
Now it is up to the state attorney’s office to decide if the shooter will be charged with Thomas’ death.
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