BYRON, Ga. — A Peach County, Georgia, woman is facing multiple charges after she pulled a gun on two children riding their bikes.
Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese told WMAZ that Patricia Compton, 52, has been charged with aggravated assault, child cruelty and terroristic threats connected to the Sunday incident.
According to the incident report, Compton explained to responding authorities that a neighbor called her earlier in the day to tell her two people were on her property. She later told deputies that she neither owns the land nor lives on it but said the property houses a construction shop and that she had animals there, WXGA reported.
The juveniles told deputies they went to the property specifically to see the animals and that when Compton arrived, she pointed a gun at them and said, “Stop, or I’ll shoot you,” the TV station reported.
WMAZ identified the children as 12-year-old Kaleb Barnes and 13-year-old Ethan Hollis.
Hollis reportedly ran back to Barnes’ grandparents’ home, leaving Barnes at the scene, and retrieved Venita Kennedy, Barnes’ grandmother, who later recorded and streamed the family’s interactions with Compton on Facebook Live, the TV station reported.
Compton reportedly told deputies that she did not realize the “trespassers” were kids, did not know if they were armed and that “she knew there aren’t many ‘Black kids’ in this neighborhood, so she thought it was strangers that were up to no good,” WXGA reported.
In their report, deputies justified the aggravated assault charge, stating: “With the juveniles living in the neighborhood, the age of the juveniles, and the fact that it was daylight outside which revealed their identity, I believe that Mrs. Compton had ample time to react to their age and recognize them and also acknowledge that they presented no danger to her or anyone in the area. With all of this information presented to her, she still decided to brandish a firearm and present it to where the children were aware of its presence within the situation, placing them in fear for their safety.”
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