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Randy Young
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Bryan Hancock
Man shot outside Cracker Barrel dies; suspect’s father says shooting was no hate crime
April 1, 2019
A man shot during a dispute in the parking lot of the Trussville Cracker Barrel has died.
Randy Young, 40, was pronounced dead at UAB Hospital at 11:30 p.m. Saturday, according to a spokesman for his family. They expect to release additional information, possibly as early as Monday.
The shooting happened shortly before 9:30 p.m. Thursday at the restaurant on Norrell Drive. Trussville police dispatched to the scene found Young on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head.
Witnesses told police the suspects were on the scene. Those two men were located in the parking lot and taken into custody. Bryan Patrick Hancock, 22, was charged Friday with attempted murder.
Trussville police Chief Eric Rush said the shooting stemmed from a dispute in the parking lot. It began, he said, when the two suspects parked in a manner that blocked in the victim’s vehicle. “An argument ensued, and it escalated to the point that the victim was shot by one of the suspects,’’ Rush said.
Young was at the restaurant with his stepfather. His brother, Brandon Young, told the Trussville Tribune that their stepfather was outside when a car pulled up at an angle, blocking the exit.
The driver exited the vehicle and went into the restaurant, leaving the passenger – Hancock - in the car. As Randy Young exited the restaurant, he told the publication, Hancock used a racial slur toward him. The situation escalated quickly, and Randy Young was shot.
Hancock remains in the Jefferson County Jail on $150,000 bond. The police chief on Sunday said investigators on Monday will seek to upgrade the charge against him to murder.
The suspect’s stepfather, who is black, on Sunday defended his son and said the shooting was in no way a “hate crime.”
“It’s absolutely not that,’’ said Steven Chatman. “I’ve been his father since he was 8 years old and he’s not a racist. There’s nothing about him that is racist.”
Chatman said he would be shocked to learn that his son used a racial slur, and not a more accepted version of the same word. “He would not disrespect me like that,’’ he said. “I would say he grew up around 60 percent black people and 40 percent white people.”
Chatman said he is saddened by the entire situation. “I truly sympathize with his (Randy Young) family. No one wants to have a death in their family,’’ he said. “I know him. He was my neighbor 20 years ago.”
“But this was completely a self-defense situation and the truth will come out,’’ he said. “Anybody who knows Bryan knows he has never been violent. Everybody is in shock behind this.”
“I think once the DA and judge get to see the actual evidence, they will know that it was not a racial incident and my son was acting in self-defense,’’ he said. “The truth will come. I stand behind my son 100 percent. I’m not going to have his name ruined behind something like this.“
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