The teen’s defense attorney, Jennifer Curry, was not immediately available for comment. “Any person has the right to use self-defense, even deadly force, to prevent a serious violent felony happening to themselves,” District Attorney Stacey Jackson told WRBL-TV in July. 'If you shoot someone one time, they’re down. “Once he was down, he came up to him as if that was not enough, point blank range, and shot him three times in the chest,” Tiesha Gilyard told WRBL-TV in July. Gilyard's mother, Tiesha Gilyard, had said in interviews that she did not think the shooting of her son was justified, saying he had put his gun away and that the teen shot Gilyard in the back first before coming and shooting him in the chest once Gilyard was down. But even before Georgia’s law passed in 2006, the teen could have been justified in using deadly force as the victim of a crime. Stand-your-ground laws remove a person’s duty to retreat from illegal attacks before using deadly force in self-defense. Martin agreed to drop the charges Wednesday, saying the boy believed he was being kidnapped, and that “the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to himself.” The 22-year-old was shot seven times, four times in the back, his family has said.

But prosecutors later concluded that Gilyard was the primary aggressor, entering the park and hitting the boy over the head with a handgun three times as the boy tried to get away.Īssistant District Attorney Robin Anthony said Gilyard, 22, also threatened to shoot the teen, saying “I’m going to bust you in the kidney.” When parents at the park complained, Anthony said Gilyard told the teen to follow him, stuck the gun in his waistband, and said, “You’d better not run, either.” Anthony said when Gilyard turned to walk away, the teen took a gun from his backpack and shot Gilyard. The boy was indicted as an adult in February for murder, aggravated assault, and possessing a gun while committing a felony.

Shoot point blank locations