‘This was not anyone’s fault’: Parents of 15-year-old killed by police address weekend shooting
By Paige Meyer
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ATHENS (WAAY) — A grieving family calls for improved mental health resources across the state following the death of their son. Athens police shot and killed 15 year old Gabriel McNutt Saturday after officers say he was armed with guns and knives.
The McNutt family says their son Gabriel was normally was a Jesus and family loving young boy. They say what happened over the weekend was a result of a lifetime of health difficulties.
“Nothing we did registered with Gabriel. He wasn’t there. His eyes were glazed over, it wasn’t Gabriel,” Gabriel’s mother Leslie McNutt said.
The McNutt’s were visiting family in Athens for fathers day when they noticed Gabriel began acting out of character. They say their son got his hands on knives from the kitchen which prompted his family to call Athens PD.
“By the time the cops got there, he was throwing knives at the cops,” Leslie McNutt said, “the cops showed extreme professionalism, they were so calm and patient with him.”
Gabriel’s parents say he eventually found a gun in a back closet which he loaded and shot at police. Officers returned the fire which ultimately killed him.
The McNutts hope their son has found peace.
“We both were there to welcome him into this world, and we were both there at the very end to see him off to his Jesus,” Gabriel’s father Adam McNutt said.
The 15 year old has an arteriovenous malformation (AMV) in his left frontal lobe which resulted in Gabriel developing epilepsy, seizures, depression, and neurological damage.
His parents say they don’t blame anyone for what happened.
“This was not anyone’s fault. If anything, it’s mental health care but the cops did everything with us and for us to save him but God just said no,” Adam McNutt said.
The McNutt family says there was so much they tried to do for their son, but his mental health struggle was too great.
They hope what happened to their son will help shed light on the impacts AMV can have on someone’s brain. They also hope what happened to their son will start a discussion of widening mental health facilities across the state.
“There has to be better training, there has to be more input and more weight to what the parents have to say,” Adam McNutt said.
Something the McNutts are thankful for is the outpouring support from those around them.
“I can’t name everything that everyone’s done it’s just so overwhelming the amount of love and support we’ve been shown during the hardest time of our lives and we are so grateful for it,” Leslie McNutt said.
The McNutts invite the entire community to Gabriel’s funeral tomorrow at Central Park Baptist Church in Decatur. Visitation is from 4-6pm. The memorial is from 6-7pm.
In lieu of flowers, the McNutts asks for donations to Mision Vida Nueva.
A GoFundMe has also been created to help support the McNutt family.
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