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OWENSBORO, KY – A teenage boy fatally shot a man who was physically attacking his mother inside their home, according to the Owensboro Police Department and the Daviess County Coroner’s Office.

Officers responded to a shooting shortly after 7:00 p.m. last Friday in the 3000 block of Daviess Street. When they arrived, they found an adult male inside the residence with a gunshot wound. Emergency personnel from the Owensboro Fire Department and American Medical Response transported him to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

The Daviess County Coroner’s Office identified the deceased as 30-year-old Christopher Ray.

The initial investigation revealed that Ray was physically assaulting an adult woman inside the home. Her juvenile son, fearing for his mother’s life, retrieved a firearm and shot Ray in her defense. After consulting with the County and Commonwealth Attorney, investigators released the juvenile to his mother’s custody pending a full review of the evidence.

Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division and Evidence Collection Unit continued working the scene. The investigation remains ongoing.

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A Son’s Decision

This case reflects a reality that armed citizens understand: there are moments when a family member must act to stop a violent threat to someone they love. A child, seeing his mother in danger, made a decision that likely saved her life.

Kentucky law recognizes the right to use force in defense of another person when that person faces an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm. The prosecutor’s decision to release the juvenile pending review suggests the facts, as they stand, align with that legal framework.

The Second Amendment’s protection of the right to keep a firearm in the home exists precisely for moments like this one. Access to a lawfully kept firearm may have been the deciding factor between life and death for this mother.