The Sumner County man charged in the death of his 11-year-old daughter told authorities the shooting was an accident, according to police documents.
The incident happened before 3:30 p.m. Monday at a home on Shady View Drive in Hendersonville.
MORE: 11-Year-Old Shot, Killed In Hendersonville
According to an affidavit, Timothy Batts first told police that his daughter, Timea, woke him up and said she had been shot after getting off the bus. Police obtained a search warrant and found evidence that he had fired his gun inside the house.
Hendersonville PD investigator tells me Timothy Batts was extremely cooperative with them. @NC5 pic.twitter.com/Ase3jlryWx
— Matthew Torres (@NC5_MTorres) August 9, 2016
Batts later went to the police department to admit he was lying, according to investigators.
Police said he admitted that he accidentally shot his daughter after being awoken to a sound in the home. He reportedly grabbed the gun from under the dresser and fired a shot when she yelled and scared him.
Batts then removed the gun from the scene before he dropped off Timea at an area hospital. He stayed there until police arrived. He said the weapon is now in Nashville.
She later died at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Timea, a student at Knox Doss Middle School, had just attended her first day of school earlier that day.
Batts, a convicted felon, has been charged with reckless homicide, tampering with evidence, false reporting and felon in possession of a firearm. He was held on a $1 million bond.
A cousin of Batts has created a gofundme page in attempt to raise money for his bail.
He was previously convicted of felony drug possession and was charged with attempted criminal homicide stemming from a 2012 incident. He was accused of shooting at a man on Rosa Parks Boulevard. Details about what happened in that case were not available.
