Shots spray house; man dies in bed
Kat Russell, Photojournalist
Kentucky New Era
November 24, 3013
http://www.kentuckynewera.com/news/article_56bb078e-55a0-11e3-a760-001a4bcf887a.html
Kat Russell / Kentucky New Era
A 21-year-old Hopkinsville man was shot to death early Sunday morning as he slept in a front bedroom at his mother’s home on the 2300 block of Greenville Road.
Known to his family as “Tony,” Antonio Cross was lying in bed when someone outside sprayed the home with bullets. Cross’ mother, Etta Henderson, and her two grandchildren, who are Cross’ niece and nephew, were laying in her bed watching TV in the back of the house when they heard gunfire.
“I heard three shots — boom, boom, boom — but I didn’t see anything,” she told the New Era on Sunday afternoon.
Based on the number of bullet holes in the house, many more than three shots were fired.
Bullets tore through the front walls, front door, front windows and went through the rooms inside. They went through Cross' bedroom, through the bathroom and then through the walls to Henderson's bedroom before becoming lodged in her closet doors, her mattress and the bathroom wall on the other side of her room.
When the shooting stopped, Henderson went to her son’s room and found him lying on his bed gasping. He had been hit in the back of the head, she said.
“He laid there looking at me and then he laid his head back down and that was it.”
Christian County Coroner Dorris Lamb pronounced Cross dead at the scene.
The Christian County Sherriff’s Department and paramedics responded to a 911 call from the home around 2:15 Sunday morning, said Deputy Ed Stokes.
Police blocked off the road surrounding the duplex for several hours as deputies investigated the homicide.
“They shot my son like he was a dog,” Henderson cried. “I thought he was going to be the one to bury me — but to bury my own child, I never thought I was going to do that. Never.”
Police have not released a motive for the shooting, but Henderson has her own theory.
She said her son got into a fight over a woman with another man on Saturday. She said the man gathered a group of friends and went to four different places on the west side of town looking for her son. She believes the man her son fought with is responsible for his death.
“He must have found out where Tony lives,” she said.
Family members gathered in Henderson’s bullet-riddled home Sunday afternoon to comfort the mother who remembered her son, Tony, as a “sweet, sweet person,” the kind of man would give away his last penny.
“My heart hurts for my son,” she wept. “I should be angry, but I’m so hurt. I’m so hurt.”
Reach Kat Russell at 270-887-3241 or krussell@kentuckynewera.com.
Known to his family as “Tony,” Antonio Cross was lying in bed when someone outside sprayed the home with bullets. Cross’ mother, Etta Henderson, and her two grandchildren, who are Cross’ niece and nephew, were laying in her bed watching TV in the back of the house when they heard gunfire.
“I heard three shots — boom, boom, boom — but I didn’t see anything,” she told the New Era on Sunday afternoon.
Based on the number of bullet holes in the house, many more than three shots were fired.
Bullets tore through the front walls, front door, front windows and went through the rooms inside. They went through Cross' bedroom, through the bathroom and then through the walls to Henderson's bedroom before becoming lodged in her closet doors, her mattress and the bathroom wall on the other side of her room.
When the shooting stopped, Henderson went to her son’s room and found him lying on his bed gasping. He had been hit in the back of the head, she said.
“He laid there looking at me and then he laid his head back down and that was it.”
Christian County Coroner Dorris Lamb pronounced Cross dead at the scene.
The Christian County Sherriff’s Department and paramedics responded to a 911 call from the home around 2:15 Sunday morning, said Deputy Ed Stokes.
Police blocked off the road surrounding the duplex for several hours as deputies investigated the homicide.
“They shot my son like he was a dog,” Henderson cried. “I thought he was going to be the one to bury me — but to bury my own child, I never thought I was going to do that. Never.”
Police have not released a motive for the shooting, but Henderson has her own theory.
She said her son got into a fight over a woman with another man on Saturday. She said the man gathered a group of friends and went to four different places on the west side of town looking for her son. She believes the man her son fought with is responsible for his death.
“He must have found out where Tony lives,” she said.
Family members gathered in Henderson’s bullet-riddled home Sunday afternoon to comfort the mother who remembered her son, Tony, as a “sweet, sweet person,” the kind of man would give away his last penny.
“My heart hurts for my son,” she wept. “I should be angry, but I’m so hurt. I’m so hurt.”
Reach Kat Russell at 270-887-3241 or krussell@kentuckynewera.com.
