A Tennessee man known for his controversial behavior was shot and killed last month after flipping off a war memorial.
Albert Sturgill Jr., 63, was confronted by a group while gesturing at the flag and monuments at Cumberland County Veterans Memorial Park in Crossville, a small conservative city in the center of the state, on Aug. 22.
The victim’s family told NBC News he was rejected from the military when he was younger, hated the government and had mental health issues.
Business owner Larry Doster, 78, told WBIR that Sturgill was known around town for similar antics but the situation escalated suddenly before Sturgill was shot in the neck. He died from his injuries days later.
Eric Brandon Garrison is now charged with second degree murder, 13th Judicial District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway told the station.
“The distinction between a first degree murder and second degree murder is the intent of the shooter,” Dunaway said. “We have not gathered all the information yet, so at this point in the game — based on the information we have right now — that is the appropriate charge. That’s gonna be constantly reevaluated as the process goes along.”
The shooting was caught on video, which has prompted outrage from Sturgill’s family and others in the community.
“I don’t care what he was doing. He didn’t deserve to be shot,” Doster, a Vietnam veteran, told NBC News.
Chelsey Garrison, the suspect’s wife, said she tried to convince her husband to go home but instead he told Sturgill he was being disrespectful.
The two then jostled over a wooden stick that Sturgill was holding. He got free and swung it, hitting Eric Garrison in the head multiple times.
Crystal Sturgill told NBC News her uncle used the stick for balance because of his prosthetic foot.
Video of the incident shows Sturgill backing away from three men before Garrison runs off screen and returns with a gun while his wife tries to stop him.
Sturgill is then shot and slumps to the ground as approaching sirens can be heard.
He was rushed to the hospital but was later taken off life support because of a lack of brain activity.
Garrison has pleaded not guilty.
“He decided to come straight back and take someone’s life,” Crystal Sturgill told NBC News. “He had the opportunity to walk away and he didn’t take it.”
According to an online obituary, Sturgill was a carpenter who was originally from Detroit.
