17-year old Florida boy shoots father to death to defend mother

A 17-year old boy, Channing Thorpe, saw his father, Christopher Thorpe, assaulting his mother, Jill Thorpe, in their mobile home in Plant City, Florida, after an argument got out of hand.  Channing then got the family handgun and fired several times, hitting and killing his father, and wounding his mother.

No charges have been filed, and the boy was released to the custody of his mother.

According to a neighbor, the father owned a lot of guns, carried a pistol at all times, often shot guns on his property, and had a "Jekyll and Hyde" character.

From an article:

The shooting happened around 10 p.m. Saturday as a group of family and friends were gathered around a bonfire outside a mobile home in Plant City, a rural area northeast of Tampa. 

Police said the teen's parents went into the mobile home and got into an argument that escalated when the father, identified as Christopher Thorpe, began striking his wife, Jill. 

"He [Christopher Thorpe] was beating her; [he] kept punching her," Debbie Carter, a spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, told Fox affiliate WTVT. 

"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, rushed in and shot his father when he saw him beating and strangling his mother in their bedroom, according to police. 

The teenager fired several shots at his father from a handgun. The boy then called the Sheriff's Office to report he had shot his father. Deputies later found Christopher Thorpe, 36, dead in the master bedroom. 

One of the bullets also hit 35-year-old Jill Thorpe in the thigh. She was treated at an area hospital and later released. 

Police did not arrest the teen, who was left in the custody of his mom. 

The Tampa Bay Times reported that there was no known history of domestic violence, and that the father, mother and son had no criminal record.

From a related article, with more details about the family:

“I thought, ‘Wow,’” Bill Dunlap said. “It shocked me, but I wasn’t surprised as fixated with guns as he (Christopher) was.” 

“I just keep thinking about poor Channing and how this will affect the rest of his life,” Linda Dunlap said. 

The Dunlaps said they could hear gunshots coming from the back of the Thorpes’ property on a regular basis. Christopher Thorpe was an avid hunter and had many guns in the house. He often would shoot target practice with friends, and he always carried a pistol. 

Christopher and Jill Thorpe had just returned from a hunting trip in Kentucky the Sunday before Thanksgiving, according to the Dunlaps. Jill Thorpe recently had started sharing the hobby more often with her husband. She even butchered the deer they brought back from Kentucky. 

Bonfires were a common activity at the residence, and the Dunlaps said Christopher Thorpe cut down on drinking beer after being diagnosed recently with diabetes. 

There were never any signs of domestic abuse that the Dunlaps saw or heard in the seven years they lived across the street from the Thorpes. But the Dunlaps did describe Christopher Thorpe as a “Jekyll and Hyde character.”

.