A Sumner County man fed-up over his mailbox being vandalized was charged with aggravated assault after admitting to shooting one of the teenagers suspected of damaging his mailbox.
Joshua Taylor told Sumner County Sheriff's Deputies that he decided to "sit up and wait" for the teens who he suspected had damaged his mailbox on three separate occasions last week.
Just after midnight on Monday, he heard an ATV drive by his home in the dark, officials say the 29-year-old father grabbed his 12 gauge shot gun and fired a single shot in the direction of the teenagers. One of them was hit with 56 pellets across his back, legs and arms.
"I was like 'woah I just got shot' I didn't know what to do I just started running for my life I didn't want to die or anything," the 13-year-old told NewsChannel 5 on Tuesday.
Deputies said one of the teenager's friends admitted to videotaping himself vandalizing Joshua Taylor mailbox on Haskell Akins Road but they say Taylor made a mistake in the way he dealt with the situation.
"We would much rather us respond then someone take something like that into their own hands," Detective Scott Bilbrey with the Sumner County Sheriff's Office said.
"I've been to a lot of mailbox vandalisms, never been to one where someone took a shot at somebody that's a first for me," he added.
Two of the teenage boys were charged with vandalism. Joshua Taylor was arrested and charged with four counts of aggravated assault. He was released from jail on a $50,000 bond.
