Her son had a gun. The two of them together went to look for the person in a grey sedan, from what is being reported now.
While the decision to go back and look for the vehicle was a very unwise decision on their part it doesn't make either the son nor the mom culpable in what happened imo. They may have gone back to look for the vehicle thinking they could get the tag number before calling police. It is rather odd that they found it in the area close to their home. It makes me wonder if the suspect lives in that general area. Or was the suspect sitting idle watching which way the mom and daughter went home?
It is obvious when they saw the vehicle and the people in question the mom and son did not confront them then even with the son having a firearm with him. Once they found the vehicle they headed back to their own property and driveway. So they did not cause this to elevate into what happened next imo.
Once the driver in the other car pursued them all the way to their home he became the aggressor and certainly was when he got out of the car and started firing leaving the mother dead in her own driveway.
The son only fired his weapon at the time when he was back on his own property when shots were being fired by the suspect they are looking for now.
I don't fault the son for having his legally owned firearm with him that late at night. If he had had no weapon when the other man(men) started firing he too could have been killed along with his mom. I hope he did do some damage to the car where if it is found it would still have the identifying fresh bullet holes or hole or a shattered window. He also may have been able to hit one of the three that was in the vehicle. Wherever the suspects are holed up now and hiding out they may have someone trying to tend to a wound if they sustained one, which I hope that is the case. It may though begin to cause serious infection to sit in where they would need to seek medical help. Oddly as it sounds a perp will go to the hospital when the wounds were done during a criminal act. They will try to lie of course and say it was an accident of some sort but still the police is notified.
The person who murdered this mom cannot claim self defense. The minute they left and returned to their home was the cooling off period and it was the suspect in the other vehicle who pursued the family and came to their home. With the mom and son leaving once spotting the vehicle and headed home the occupants had to know the mom and son weren't going to confront them or they wouldn't have left.
So by following them home this definitely could be a first degree premeditation case. And we all know it doesn't take but a few seconds or a minute to form an intent to kill.
I have a feeling the suspect has a criminal record ..probably all three do and he felt if they did get his tag number and called LE he would be in a whole lot of trouble. He may even be an ex-felon or gang member who isn't even suppose to legally own a gun much less be in the possession of one.
Its a tragedy no matter how it happened or the mistakes made by this mom. She certainly didn't deserve to be mowed down right on her own property in her own driveway.
I sure hope they catch them soon.
