TIPTON COUNTY, Tenn. — A man is facing charges after a shooting left a woman dead and child injured Monday night in southeast Tipton County, according to the sheriff's office.
Tipton County Sheriff Shannon Beasley said deputies responded to the incident April 22 around 11:15 p.m. in the area of Billings Drive and McGowan Drive, where a juvenile was beating on neighborhood doors, asking for help. When deputies arrived, the boy told them he had been shot by a man in his home in the 100 block of McGowan.
Furthermore, he told deputies his mother was still in the home.
Deputies surrounded the home and saw a man moving around inside. They tried talking with him through the door, but he refused to come out. After a phone connection was made and 45 minutes of negotiations, the suspect surrendered and was taken into custody.
However, deputies found the mother dead inside the home with an apparent gunshot wound.
The suspect was identified as 52-year-old Donald Ray Parker Jr. from Memphis. The sheriff said Parker confessed to his actions and has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and aggravated stalking.
Beasley said the deputies' thoughts and prayers are with the victims.
"Ray Parker will now answer for his actions and I hope he has the rest of his life in prison to think about the decisions he has made that has forever changed this family," the sheriff said. "I want to commend our deputies for their response and handling of this volatile situation and negotiating the suspect out of the home and the diligent work our detectives did in processing this scene."
