Robert Walker Sr. and Betty Walker of Houston, Texas were visiting their son's home at 2136 Oakhurst Drive in south Jackson, anxious to spend time with their grandchildren.
The elder and younger Walker had forged a bond over home improvement projects, and spent most of Friday outdoors doing odd fix-ups. The barking dog behind the fence had been a topic of conversation during the few days his parents had been there.
"One day that dog's gonna jump that fence," Walker Sr. was recalled saying.
Walker Sr., a retired seismic engineer, was painting house address numbers in the backyard shortly after 3 p.m. Friday when a white 8-month-old pit bull named "Cocaine" jumped the fence and tugged the shirt-tail of a 7-year-old relative, said Walker Jr., relaying his mother's story.
Walker Sr. threw a brick at the dog while his wife quickly escorted her grandchildren into the house.
She retrieved a .38-caliber revolver and returned outside, where she found her her husband holding the barking pit bull with both hands. Walker Sr. and the pit bull were face to face with the dog's back to Betty Walker.
Betty Walker fired two shots, the first striking her husband in the upper right chest. The second bullet struck the dog's left front leg.
"I had gone upstairs to lay down, and I just heard two shots. I jumped out of bed and I heard my momma scream," Walker Jr. said.
She was screaming, 'Your daddy's been shot! Your daddy's been shot!'"
Assuming a robbery had occurred, Walker Jr. ran to his pickup and retrieved his pistol. But there was no robbery, his mother explained.
"I saw daddy laying on the ground. I'm holding him and I'm saying, 'Daddy, stay up! Wake up! Breathe!'" Walker Jr. said.
"Momma was screaming, 'I shot your daddy! I shot your daddy!'"
Walker Jr. ran back to his pickup and backed it into the yard. Neighbors had helped Walker Jr. lift his father onto the tailgate by the time police and an ambulance arrived.
Walker Sr. was pronounced dead less than two hours later at a hospital. He was 53.
"It was a freak accident," Walker Jr. said. "I don't know what else to say."
Jackson Police spokeswoman Colendula Green said Saturday the shooting remains under investigation. A Hinds County grand jury will determine whether Betty Walker should face criminal charges.
The pit bull was picked up by animal control immediately following the shooting.
The dog's owner, Lazarius Montgomery, also could face charges. Montgomery lives two houses down from Walker Jr. and was not home for comment Saturday afternoon.
Montgomery's cousin, Robert Ferguson, has said neither he nor Montgomery knows how the dog got out of a pen. Montgomery has said he was asleep when the shooting happened and was awakened to learn his dog had been hurt.
"I don't have no ill will toward my neighbor," Walker Jr. said. "It's just one of those things."
Family and friends wandered in and out of Walker Jr.'s home offering condolences and consoling Betty Walker, who mourned in a back bedroom.
The Walkers were married for 32 years and had four children.
"My mom loved my dad. They traveled the world together," Walker Jr. said.
"She said, 'Please forgive me. I killed your daddy.' We told her she was only trying to protect him."
(Clarion Ledger - July 17, 2011)
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