Hendersonville, TN resident Timothy Batts is grieving behind bars today after he accidentally shot and killed his 11-year-old daughter, Timea Batts, Monday afternoon.
Currently being held at Gallatin, Tennessee’s Sumner County Jail, Batts, who is already a convicted felon, faces three separate charges – reckless homicide, tampering with evidence and unlawful possession of a weapon – in the wake of his daughter’s death.
According to FOX 17 News, “Batts said he woke up after hearing a sound and grabbed a gun from underneath his dresser. When his daughter ‘yelled and scared’ him, he fired a shot which struck the child.” Timea was coming home from her first day of middle school when her father pulled the trigger.
Immediately rushed to the hospital, 11-year-old Timea Batts later died Monday night at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
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Friends and family remember Timea with memories and prayers shared with regional news outlet, The Tennessean.
“I just hope she’s safe in heaven,” Timea’s 7-year-old friend, Mackenzie House, house told The Tennessean.
Timea’s elementary school friend, Jazmin Menendrez, who also began middle school with Batts at Hawkins Middle School, tearfully told the news outlet, “She laughed at everything I said. She was just so much fun. I’m really going to miss her.”
Timea’s mother, known as Breezy, honored her daughter with an Instagram post that reads, “Death does NOT discriminate. Love one another as if it’s your last time seeing them. #HeartBroken #SoSad #RestOnAngel #TimeaBatts #StayStrongSade #StayStrongTimmont God sees a knows ALL!!! He KNOW’S the truth and he will see y’all through!”
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Watch nearly 300 people come together to honor the life of Timea Batts in the video below.