The Bizarre Story Behind the 11-Year-Old Girl Shot and Killed by Her Dad
On August 8th, Timea Batts, 11, finished her first day of Knox Doss Middle School in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and made her way to the bus stop. It was initially reported that when she got off the bus in the afternoon, Batts was shot and walked home to inform her father. However, her father recently admitted to accidentally shooting his daughter.
Timothy Batts, 29, was arrested by police when officials determined the gunshot occurred in the home. An arrest affidavit revealed Timothy admitted he was asleep before Timea arrived home. He was awoken by a sound, retrieved a gun from under his dresser, and fired a shot at Timea Batts "when she yelled and scared him."
The affidavit also claimed that Batts removed the gun from the scene and told officials that the weapon is now in Nashville.
After the shooting, Batts drove Timea to Henderson Medical Center. She was eventually transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she later died from her injuries.
“The child came in home from school. He was at the home and he shot the child,” said Detective Sgt. Jim Vaughn with Hendersonville Police. “There was no evidence that was his plan. It wasn’t premeditated.”
Batts now faces charges of reckless homicide, tampering with evidence, false reporting and possessing a firearm as a felon. He was booked into the Sumner County Jail after midnight Monday on $1 million bond.
Batts is set to appear in Sumner County General Session Court on Aug. 24. It should also be noted that he was already wanted by Metro Police on attempted homicide charges involving a 2012 car-to-car shooting.