TAMPA, Fla. _ A man accused of shooting his live-in girlfriend and her 10-year-old son told deputies they attacked him after an argument over changing the channel to watch a football game, an arrest report says.
But evidence at the scene contradicts that story, according to the report.
Tyron Terell Johnson, 42, called 911 at 6:47 p.m. Sunday and said he shot two people "because he was being attacked," the report says. Deputies arrived at 4302 Mariners Cove Ct., Apt. 104, and found the woman and boy dead from apparent gunshot wounds. Their names have not been released.
Johnson told deputies the incident started when he and his girlfriend got into an argument about him changing the channel to watch a football game. Johnson said he moved to the master bedroom of the apartment to pack his belongings, the report says. He told investigators he has trouble walking because he recently had surgery on a foot injured during his time in the military.
Johnson told deputies he began packing and his girlfriend came in to the bedroom and started to berate him, the report says. Johnson said he contacted his father by Facebook messenger to pick him up the next morning. At that point, Johnson told investigators, his girlfriend began "tussling" at his back and pushed him off his knee roller, so he sat down on the floor next to the bed.
According to the report, Johnson claimed the boy approached him and accused him of hitting the boy's mother. Johnson said he pushed the boy, armed himself with a Glock 22 .40-caliber handgun and began to fire at the woman while she held a PlayStation game console in her hands, the report says.
Johnson said the boy left the bedroom when the gunfire began. When the boy returned, Johnson began shooting at him, the report says.
"The defendant advised he kept firing and alluded to firing at victim no. 2 while he was on the ground," the report says.
Johnson said all the gunfire happened in the master bedroom, but investigators found evidence of gunfire in the boy's bedroom and blood underneath the boy's bed, the report says. When confronted with that evidence, Johnson did not change his statement.
The report says Johnson had lived with the woman and boy for about a year.
Johnson was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail on Monday around 1:20 a.m. Monday and was being held without bail on charges of first degree felony murder, second-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and shooting into or within a building.
Military records show Johnson served in the U.S. Marines from 1994 to 1998 and achieved the rank of corporal. His specialty is listed as field artillery cannoneer.
