According to investigators, Butler had been calling other children in the complex racist names in recent days. When a friend of Gant’s told him about what had happened, he went over to Butler’s apartment to confront him about his racist actions.
Instead of conversation, Gant got a bullet between his eyes. Butler shut his door and left his victim lying on the ground bleeding. He then called 911, finished cooking dinner and sat down to eat.
WJHG reports that when Gulf County Sheriff Joe Nugent arrived at the scene of the shooting, Butler acted as if he were being inconvenienced.
“He was brought to the investigative unit where he was interviewed and basically admitted to shooting the victim and said he shot a, just used a racial slur, and said that is what he shot and acted like it was no big deal or anything to him,” Nugent told WJHG.
Gant is in guarded condition at Bay Medical Center and expected to survive.
Butler is locked up in Gulf County Jail.
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It is understandable how Mr. Gant must have felt upon learning of these racial slurs being tossed about towards his child.
But, the safest thing that Mr. Gant should have done was to contact the apartment complex management and have them handle the matter.
These types of altercations between tenants at apartments can and often escalate where someone is seriously injured, or worse, dead.
Having the apartment management address this issue, or any others, takes the danger off a tenant, since the management can fine, cite (tenant violations), or evict the offending tenant.
As for the following:
“He was brought to the investigative unit where he was interviewed and basically admitted to shooting the victim and said he shot a, just used a racial slur, and said that is what he shot and acted like it was no big deal or anything to him,” Nugent told WJHG.”
“expressed disbelief over his arrest, telling officers that he “only shot a nigger.”
“He then called 911, finished cooking dinner and sat down to eat.”
Since this was not a tussle between two children, but an act that yielded deadly force against a human life, then Mr. Butler will have much time to ponder those prison meals he may look forward to, since he will not be able to cook dinner and sit down to eat whenever, nor whatever, he wants to eat. Last time I read about various prison regulations, you do not live inside a prison with the freedom that you have outside of a prison environment. In prison there are lots and lots of inconveniences: body cavity searches; strip searches; cell block searches; lights out ( or face a penalty); solitary confinement…….oh, but I am sure Mr. Butler did not think of those things when he fired that .22 rifle.
Prison.
Sigh.
Such an inconvenient truth.
If he is convicted, I imagine he will have lots of time to reflect on the “disbelief” of facing years in prison for shooting a Black person.
Mr. Butler may not believe in the humanity of his fellow Black citizens.
But, there is one thing he can be rest assured of:
Attempted murder is never a joke.
And doing time in the Big House was never a vacation hotspot for anyone who broke the law.
On the other hand, he can plead innocent by reason of insanity, which in his case would be a flimsy defense since racism cannot be used as a defense in court.
Or he could just invoke the Florida “Stand Your Ground Law’.
What the hell.
It was only a Black human being that he shot in the head.
Ann
Good points you mention on the apartment management responsibility. I never thought of that.
This….person…who shot that unarmed man was more than a fool.
Hmm.
Wonder how he will be able to sit down after making aquaintance with his future cellmates?
My heart goes out to that poor Mr. Gant.
As for Butler, I hope he burns in hell for his viciousness.