Nationwide — Kendra Scott, a 36-year-old African American mother from Memphis, Tennessee, faces a murder charge after allegedly shooting a man she found inside her child’s bedroom. Authorities are investigating the shooting and the events that happened before it.
Police responded to a shooting report around 1:45 a.m. Thursday in the Walker Homes neighborhood on Travis Road. When officers arrived, they found a man lying in the front yard with a gunshot wound to the back of his head.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Police detained Scott, who was later arrested and charged with first-degree murder and using a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.
According to Action News 5, Scott told officers she discovered the man hiding under her child’s bed. She said the man responded by saying, “I did what I had to do” after she found him inside the room.
Investigators later learned the man had entered the home after being invited by Scott’s juvenile child. The child reportedly told police that Scott had previously warned her that she would “put a hole in his a*s” if she ever caught her bringing a boy into the house.
The circumstances of the shooting have raised questions about whether Scott could claim self-defense. Buddy Smith, a retired law enforcement officer and firearm self-defense trainer, said the details currently available do not appear to meet the requirements of Tennessee’s Castle Doctrine.
Smith explained that the law allows people to defend themselves or others inside their home when someone breaks in while committing or attempting to commit a violent felony. However, he said the affidavit does not show that the man threatened Scott or anyone else at the time of the shooting. He added that more evidence would be needed for Scott to build a self-defense argument in court.
Neighbors in the area shared different reactions to the case. Gloria Milon, who lives nearby, said she understood Scott’s concern, saying, “She seemed like a real nice lady. All I can say is, that hurts that someone was in there with one of her little girls.”
Another neighbor disagreed with Scott’s actions and said, “If it would’ve been me in that situation, and I had seen her on that doorbell camera, I would’ve called the police and had them sitting at my house when I got there. Therefore, you take him out, take him on to jail.”