Father, 60, and son, 32, shoot each other dead during a dispute over the family dog – which the younger man had killed after it attacked a child
An Alabama man and his son have shot each other dead in a dispute over a dog, which the younger man had killed for trying to attack a child.
Kelvin James Coker, 60, discovered his dog had been shot on Saturday. The man then drove to the home of his 32-year-old son, Kelvin Nicholas Coker, who claimed to have killed the animal, according to local authorities.
James opened fire first, striking his son in the torso, said Washington County Sheriff Richard Stringer.
Killed over a dog: Kelvin James Coker, 60 , shot and killed his son, Kelvin Nicholas Coker, 32 , who then fatally shot his father during a dispute over the older man's slain dog
Nicholas returned fire with a shotgun, hitting his father in the neck. Both men died from their wounds.
The sheriff called the family 'very dysfunctional.'
Chief investigator Blake Richardson told WALA the incident began unfolding when Nicholas opened fire on four of the family's dogs, after one of the animals started attacking his girlfriend's young daughter.
Two of the dogs, described as pit bulls, were killed, one of them belonging to James.
'His brother said dad is going to be upset that you killed his dog and Nicholas allegedly pointed the shotgun at his brother and using choice language more or less told him to get off his property or he would kill him,' said Richardson.
Ariel Anderson , Nicholas' girlfriend, said the 32-year-old shot his father's dog because the animal was trying to attack her daughter
Moments later, James arrived at his son's home in his truck and an argument ensued.
During the confrontation, the investigator said that Nicholas pointed his shotgun at his father, who drew a handgun and shot his son.
A mortally wounded Nicholas then returned fire and killed his father.
'It's unfortunate that they would not value human life not any more than that,' Richardson said.
Nicholas' girlfriend, Ariel Anderson, has disputed the investigators' official version of events, claiming that her boyfriend did not kill his father, but rather that James took his own life after killing his son in a fit of anger.
'Nic Coker did not kill his daddy and they did not have an argument!!' she wrote in a Facebook post. 'Nic was protecting my daughter from his and his dads pitbulls that were hurting her and his dad just showed up and shot him because he was mad that Nic killed his dog then he shot himself!'
However, investigators have defended their initial findings, saying that the coroner's unofficial report shows James could not have committed suicide.
Anderson (pictured left with Nicholas) disputed the investigators' version of events, saying that James killed himself after shooting Nicholas . The Sheriff's office says the older man did not commit suicide
'I’m very confident that’s how the events unfolded, we try and let the evidence speak for everything and make sure everything is considering with our witness statements and right now we believe that’s the case.' Richardson told WKRG.
Sheriff's officials said they have responded to multiple violent incidents involving the Cokers over the years.
In 2012, James was charged with first-degree assault for shooting his other son three times.