A 25-year-old man 'hasn't stopped crying' after he allegedly mistook his mom for an intruder and fatally shot her.
Jaylen Johnson, from Olivette, St. Louis, had been at home with his girlfriend when his mom, 56-year-old Monica McNichols-Johnson, attempted to enter through the back door shortly after 7am local time.
Johnson's lawyer has said the son didn't know it was his mom at the time, and when he heard someone entering the home, he believed it was an intruder.
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The 25-year-old, a former college football player with no criminal history, had previously been robbed at gunpoint, so had a gun in his possession for protection.
Upon hearing the suspected intruder, Johnson fired the shot which struck and killed his mother.
Johnson's attorney, William Goldstein, has stated that Johnson shot his mom accidentally.
"He hasn't stopped crying," Goldstein said, per the St Louis Post Dispatch.
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Goldstein immediately called 911 after realizing what had happened, while his girlfriend attempted to tend to McNichols-Johnson.
Police responded to the scene just before 7:30am local time and discovered the mom with a gunshot wound.
Paramedics attempted 'life saving measures', police said later, but despite their efforts McNichols-Johnson died at the scene.
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In a statement on Facebook, the Olivette Police Department explained that Johnson and his mother lived together at the home on Huran Drive.
Johnson, who Goldstein described as a 'sweetheart of a kid' with a 'bright future', has been charged with manslaughter and armed criminal action, though the police stated that the investigation is ongoing.
The 25-year-old was taken to the St. Louis County Jail and had his bail set at $100,000.
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"The City of Olivette is saddened by this tragic incident and offer our sincere condolences to the loved ones of Monica Johnson-McNichols," the police department said in its statement.
Police added that there is 'no active threat to the community' in the wake of the incident.
The death of Johnson-McNichols comes less than a year after then-16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot in Missouri after ringing the wrong doorbell while trying to pick up his siblings.
Homeowner Andrew Lester fired a gunshot at the teenager through his glass door, and later claimed he believed he was facing an intruder.
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He pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action.
In Missouri, people are legally allowed to deploy deadly force if they believe they are at risk of violent attack due to the state's so-called 'stand your ground' law.
Emily Brown