Shocking footage circulating online shows an angry man shooting and injuring his partner’s son from point-blank range amid a heated argument before the the shooter takes his own life after a lengthy standoff with police.
Jeffrey Scott West, 68, of Friendsville, Tennessee, USA, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he fired a gun at Kyle W. Spitze, 24, hitting him once in the ear, following an argument between him and his stepson on Aug. 25, 2023, according to The Blount County Sheriff’s Office.
In the shocking point-of-view footage from Spitze’s phone, West is heard shouting at the man before he appears in his bedroom doorway brandishing a handgun.
“I’m getting ready to blow his goddamn brains out! Right f–kin’ now,” West is heard yelling as he appears from behind the door with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and the gun pointed directly at Spitze as he lays on his bed.
Spitze’s mother is seen rushing over to West with her pants down, pleading with him to “Stop it,” eventually getting him away from the bedroom door.
“Blow my brains out? Shoot me, and I guarantee you’ll go to jail for life,” Spitze replies.
“You want me to?” West yells, coming back in view of the camera and pointing his handgun at the victim, still lounging on his bed.
West continues to threaten and points his handgun at Spitze throughout the incident.
Spitze’s mother is seen rushing into the frame to try to stop West from pointing his gun at her son.
Spitze’s mother begins arguing with West as she shuts her son’s door to de-escalate the heated exchange.
“I’m getting ready to blow his brains out, and yours!” West shouts from behind the door, prompting Spitze to stand up and open it.
“You gonna blow my mom’s brain out?” the victim yells, now standing in the hallway of the home, and tells West to “point that gun” at him “again.”
As the camera pans toward West, the man again points the gun in Spitze’s direction.
A single shot fires directly in the direction of the camera as the victim’s mother looks on in complete shock.
After a few seconds of silence, Spitze’s mother asks in total disbelief if West just “f–king hit him?”
Blood begins to drip onto Spitze’s feet and the hardwood floor
“Oh my god! You’re going to jail,” Melanie shouts as West walks away.
Spitze quickly rushes out of the home’s backdoor in a panic to get help as the clip ends.
The Blount County Sheriff’s Office then reported soon after a 911 call would be made reporting the shooting.
Police Officers arrived on the scene at around 8:15 p.m. to find Spitze and his mother outside the home, as West had begun to barricade himself inside the residence.
Police SWAT teams were called to the scene to negotiate with the shooter, understanding the severity of the situation.
After nearly two-and-a-half hours of failed attempts at communicating with West, police deployed a Sheriff’s K-9 into the home shortly before 11 p.m.
Police then found West dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Spitze was rushed to the University of Tennessee Medical Center for treatment of his non-life-threatening injury soon after police arrived on the scene.