More Parents of the Year

[radioactive]

It’s been a difficult week for parents Temia Hairston and Michael Grace Sr. Their son, Michael Grace Jr., was shot and killed during an attempted robbery early Sunday morning.

Police said Grace Jr. and two other people tried to rob a Pizza Hut in the 3200 block of Freedom Drive. During the incident, an employee fired his own handgun and killed Grace Jr.

Hairston said she learned of her son’s death on social media, and only got confirmation from police after contacting them first. The grieving mother said she has been left with dozens of questions about the situation that have thus far gone unanswered.

“If there was to be a death, it was not the place of the employee at Pizza Hut. That is the place of law enforcement,” said Hairston.

Hairston and Grace Sr. acknowledged that their son was breaking the law by robbing the business, and said they definitely don’t condone what he did.

“It was an act of desperation, but I do not believe that Michael would have hurt anyone,” said Hairston.

They said Grace Jr. had fallen on hard times and resorted to crime to provide for his own child. They also said their son used to work at the same Pizza Hut restaurant where the robbery happened. They maintain he never would have physically hurt anyone during the robbery.

WBTV contacted the local restaurant and the Pizza Hut corporation public relations line. Neither have confirmed that Grace Jr. worked as an employee at the Freedom Drive Pizza Hut. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officials have not confirmed the information either.

The parents are angry that their son was shot and killed by an employee. They don’t believe the full story has been released to the public.


“Why in the hell did this guy have a gun?” questioned Hairston about the employee who shot her son.

She said her son was shot in the head, and she thinks the shooting may have even been personal, citing past conflicts Grace Jr. had had with other employees at the restaurant.

“This wasn’t a body shot. This was a head shot. My son was shot in the left side of his head just behind his ear. A head shot is personal,” said Hairston.

Even though their son was in the process of committing a crime, the family thinks his death was undeserved and unjustified.

“Even a criminal has a right, to a degree,” said Grace Sr. “I’m not advocating what my son did.”

The family said they want Pizza Hut to release more information about the situation and acknowledge that their son used to be a Pizza Hut employee.
Hairston said she thinks the employee who shot her son needs to be in jail, and wants all parties involved in the situation to be honest about what happened.

CMPD released a statement when asked about Grace Jr. and his alleged previous history with Pizza Hut.

“The investigation is still ongoing,” the statement read, “any new information will be released by Public Affairs.”

Grace was just 29 years old and leaves behind a young son.

 

[Greg T.]

 

[livespive]

Don't know, they might be somewhat on to something:

“This wasn’t a body shot. This was a head shot. My son was shot in the left side of his head just behind his ear. A head shot is personal,” said Hairston.

Now I don't agree when they say only law enforcement can shoot them, but where the shot was s rather suspect.
Almost like they got him down, then shot him.

But in the end he shouldn't have been doing that.

 

[Robadat]

Don't know, they might be somewhat on to something:

“This wasn’t a body shot. This was a head shot. My son was shot in the left side of his head just behind his ear. A head shot is personal,” said Hairston.

Now I don't agree when they say only law enforcement can shoot them, but where the shot was s rather suspect.
Almost like they got him down, then shot him.

But in the end he shouldn't have been doing that.

Preliminary info is that the dude was a member of an armed robbery team and displayed a gun during the robbery. That would indicate that DPF as used by the employee was legal. The intended victims have no way of knowing whether or not the robber might use the gun on them. That argument by the parent is invalid. There are no qualifications about where on the body a person gets shot. People in these situations don't have time to aim, they just point and shoot and hope to hit their target. Practice, practice and more practice on a range can improve accuracy at combat shooting. But I know of very few non LE persons that actually practice this. Almost every civilian I see at the range just practices target shooting, that does not work in real life situations where speed at getting weapon on target and firing is paramount.

Only real qualification is if he was an immediate threat to the shooter or a third person at the time the shot was actually taken. It is possible that the deceased was pointing his weapon at a different employee than the one who shot him, that could explain why it wasn't a frontal shot. Hope there is security video of this robbery. That would answer any and all questions as to whether or not the shooting was 100% justified.

 

[livespive]

Yeah, I agree 100% Rob........

I'm just saying that for that to be behind the ear like that, that would be a 1 in a million shot, if it was intended that way.

Preliminary info is that the dude was a member of an armed robbery team and displayed a gun during the robbery. That would indicate that DPF as used by the employee was legal. The intended victims have no way of knowing whether or not the robber might use the gun on them. That argument by the parent is invalid. There are no qualifications about where on the body a person gets shot. People in these situations don't have time to aim, they just point and shoot and hope to hit their target. Practice, practice and more practice on a range can improve accuracy at combat shooting. But I know of very few non LE persons that actually practice this. Almost every civilian I see at the range just practices target shooting, that does not work in real life situations where speed at getting weapon on target and firing is paramount.

Only real qualification is if he was an immediate threat to the shooter or a third person at the time the shot was actually taken. It is possible that the deceased was pointing his weapon at a different employee than the one who shot him, that could explain why it wasn't a frontal shot. Hope there is security video of this robbery. That would answer any and all questions as to whether or not the shooting was 100% justified.

 

[radioactive]

You go into someone's place of business with a gun to commit a crime, you deserve what you get. End of Story! What if he had tripped with his finger on the trigger and shot and killed one of his ex-coworkers? I didn't mean to do it! Yeah, tell that to the needle on death row!

 

[WAMO]

GREAT POINT RADIO. HE HAD A GUN. HE GOT SHOT. THERE IS NO GOOD REASON FOR HIM TO HAVE A GUN IN THE FIRST PLACE. END OF STORY.