The tragic story of Timothy Batts, who accidentally shot and killed his 11-year-old daughter, Timea Batts, on August 8, continues as Batts is out on bond after his bail was reduced from $1 million to $500,000. 

Batts shot his daughter when she startled him when she came home from her first day of school. Hundreds of people attended the court hearing following an online petition, which earned thousands of signatures, to get Batts released so that he could attend his daughter's funeral. 

Batts is facing a reckless homicide charge, but a neighbor, Jerrie Lockridge, defended him, saying, "He was used to seeing her get off that bus at 4pm. It was her first day of school. He didn't realize she was going to get home at 2:45 PM. We know he did not mean to shoot Timea.... we know that this right here was just the worst, tragic accident that could possibly happen to a family, especially a father."

Batts took to Facebook Live to share his feelings following his release on bail. "I just want to say thank you to everybody. Thank you to everybody. Thank you for the love and support. I appreciate everybody," he said.

As evidenced by the hundreds present at Batts's court hearing, many are behind him and feel empathy for the grief-stricken father, and not blaming him for his daughter's death.

"I've spoken to numerous neighbors, and they're behind him 100 percent. We don't want to see this family leave the community. I am happy he is out. I want him to be where he's at with his family. He deserves to be with his family,"  Lockridge added.

It will be up to the jury to decide whether or not Batts should serve time for the death of his daughter, or if he's suffered enough.