U.S.A. — A domestic dispute turned violent when a 35-year-old adult male forced his way into a bedroom occupied by another family. The father of that second family defended his child and shot the intruder when the family members were cornered in the bedroom. The police are often slow to close an investigation, and this case took 14 months before the defender was confident he wouldn’t be charged.
The report implies that the two families were living in the same home. The 35-year-old, identified as Travis Kenyon, was fighting with one of the women who lived in the home. After that fight, the homeowner told Kenyon that he would have to move out the next day. The confrontation became more heated from there.
It was about 9 in the evening when Kenyon forced his way past the homeowner and entered one of the bedrooms. A second adult male and a child were in that bedroom. They retreated until the angry 35-year-old cornered them. The second adult male shot Kenyon five times in the torso when cornered. There was an open call to 911 that recorded the gunshots. Police and Fire/Rescue responded to the scene.
The defender put his gun away before the police entered the home. Police swept the home twice to make sure the scene was safe. Reports indicate that the police were surprised by the large number of people in the home at the time of the shooting. Fire/Rescue responders declared the attacker dead at the scene.
The defender identified himself to the arriving police officers. He reported that he had a concealed carry permit and showed the police his identification. The defender also showed the officers where he stored his gun and then surrendered his firearm. The defender gave the investigating officers a brief statement and later invoked his right to remain silent. Police were at the home until the next morning, taking numerous statements and processing evidence.
The news reports implied that the defender was not charged with a crime because of Florida’s “stand your ground” statutes. Detectives told a different story. Detectives said the defender was in “imminent fear for his safety, and that of his family” and was cornered when he shot the attacker, who “forcefully entered an occupied bedroom.”
Even states without a stand-your-ground law still recognize that the duty to retreat only applies when we can retreat safely.
Note that someone called 911 before the attacker forced his way into the bedroom. The defender had a carry permit which told the arriving officers that he did not have a criminal record. There were also numerous witnesses that could describe the attacker’s state of mind. Those witnesses reported what the attacker said and did before he cornered the second male and child in the bedroom.
About Rob Morse
Rob Morse writes about gun rights at Ammoland, at Clash Daily, at OpsLens, and on his SlowFacts blog. He hosts the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast and co-hosts the Polite Society Podcast. Rob was an NRA pistol instructor and combat handgun competitor.
