Last Friday in Palm Beach, 22-year-old Terrence Wilson was fatally shot while attempting to drive away with a stranger’s minivan. There are two conflicting reports about what happened.
According to one report, the van’s owner had parked in front of a barber shop, left the vehicle running with his five-year-old daughter inside, and walked inside to pick up his 12-year-old son. That’s when Wilson opened the driver’s side door and leapt into the vehicle.
The van’s owner, who is a concealed carry permit holder, yelled at Wilson to stop, drew his weapon and fired, fearing for his daughter’s safety. He then managed to get back into the car and steer it to a stop.
Another report tells a slightly different story. According to that one, the van’s owner had left not one, but two daughters in the car while he ran into the barber shop. Additionally, according to that report, Wilson ordered the girls to get out of the van before driving off.
Either way, there’s security camera footage of part of what happened below. In the video, you can see the van jumping the median on the corner. According to the second report, the owner of the van was struggling with Wilson for control of the vehicle at the time. Then, the owner is seen walking beside the van, steering it to a stop.
See that for yourself here:
One fact that isn’t in question is that this wasn’t Wilson’s first time on the wrong side of the law. According to county records, he’d already been arrested twice: once for breaking into a car, after which he subsequently spent 180 days in jail for burglary, and once again for driving without a license. The crime that led to his death was consistent with that record.
Even though Wilson, himself a father of a 1-year-old boy, endangered another man’s child(ren), there are people who think he did nothing wrong:
“He was the sweetest and funniest person you could meet,” said his longtime friend Amanda Swanson, who worked with Wilson at Jimmy John’s. “He worked two jobs to support his son and girlfriend.”
“This was my friend and this was not for him,” she added. “He had no problems.”
Evidently, Ms. Swanson’s opinion of Wilson isn’t shared by local law enforcement. No charges will be filed against the man who shot him.