BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (WTVF) — Last month in a Brentwood neighborhood, Julian Porter attacked his mother with a knife.
A neighbor stepped in, shooting and killing him. His mother survived the attack and told me today she doesn't blame her son, she blames mental health.
Nathalie Porter told me about her son.
“He had the sweetest soul that you could find, and I don’t think it was meant for this world," Porter said.
Inside her Brentwood home, she’s surrounded by pictures of her blessings.
“He was silly,” said Nathalie.
Except they're now planning a funeral for her youngest son.
“He would give everything to people who didn’t have anything,” said Nathalie.
She wears sunglasses to hide the wounds she's healing — stabs and cuts she received at Julian's hands.
I asked if she was mad at her son.
“No, it wasn’t him,” said Nathalie.
For much of his adult life, Nathalie says they struggled with his mental health through multiple medications and dosages.
As a Belgian citizen, the Vanderbilt professor said they struggled even more with the healthcare system here in the United States.
“Despite the fact that the United States is one of the richest countries in the world, they’re failing, so that’s why I did research to try and help my son,” said Nathalie.
The day in February, she said a change in his medication and dosage brought on the psychosis.
“I was working on Zoom with Vanderbilt with the administration and he came behind me with a knife. I thought it was a joke,” said Nathalie. “I went to the first cul-de-sac over there, but I fell and realized he wanted to stab my eyes, so I went like this ... and everything became blurry.”
She gestured holding her hands up to stop the knife attack.
A neighbor intervened, shooting and killing the 26-year-old.
“If Julian had survived, he would’ve had a miserable life. He would’ve been institutionalized,” said Nathalie. “I completely forgive him because it was not him. Schizophrenia is not a bad word. When you hear schizophrenia, that’s horrible. He’s a killer. And he was not.”
Julian's ashes sit nearby.
“He was a beautiful soul … I know the most predictable thing in life is death, so we will all die, and I know I will see him.”
She now gains peace through grief, knowing her son was a blessing.
Nathalie said they don’t hold any ill will towards the neighbor who pulled the trigger.
She said they still do not know who the neighbor is.
Nathalie said she hopes this will encourage more thorough training among police and first responders on how to deal with those in mental health crises.
If you have thoughts on this story, email me at Amanda.Roberts@NewsChannel5.com
