A shooting in Florida last week involving a Black father and son could have gone south very quickly. They were on their way to drop off a U-Haul van they used when a white Florida couple, Wallace Fountain and his wife Beverly, shot at them. They insist the incident has nothing to do with race.
What We Know:
- Charles McMillon Jr., accompanied by his 10-year-old son and childhood friend Kendrick Clemons, went to return their truck to a U-Haul facility in Tallahassee last Thursday night. McMillon said they were ready to depart from the truck when a gunshot was heard.
- At that moment, he and Clemons noticed the white older couple making their way to the truck shouting at the men to surrender, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. Instead of immediately complying, giving the tense situation, McMillon drove off at the sound of more gunfire.
- “It was a life-threatening situation,” McMillon said. He described the heart-pounding moment by saying how without thinking, he sped off in order to protect himself and everyone present.
“I didn’t even know where I was going. I had my head down and I was making sure my son was covered. And I just pushed the gas to the floor. Didn’t know if I was going to hit something or not,” McMillon continued.
- Fortunately for the trio, a police officer happened to be in the parking lot at the time of the incident and swiftly detained the couple. The shooters have been identified as 77-year-old Wallace Fountain and 72-year-old wife Beverly Fountain, owners of the strip mall. They were arrested that very night on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, said a police report.
Charles McMillon Jr. was dropping off a U-Haul van with his young son and a friend on Thursday night when out of nowhere bullets started flying. Luckily, a police officer happened to be in the parking lot and intervened.
https://t.co/DJPMYalT8a— Tallahassee Democrat (@TDOnline) September 1, 2020
- In the Fountain’s defense, they explained how they have to surveil their fleet of U-Haul trucks, claiming they have had instances where people steal gas from them overnight. At the time of their arrest, police officers found several weapons including a shotgun, .357-caliber Magnum, and a Glock 19.
“They saw three Black people, unarmed, dropping off a U-Haul,” McMillon said. “They got guns, they started shooting. That’s why it’s racially motivated.” McMillon and Clemons are currently speaking publicly about the incident and intend to sue U-Haul and the property owners.
