DELAND, FLORIDA — A woman with a long history of arrests was shot by her own mother after police say she began hitting her in the chest during an altercation at the mother’s home.
Deputies learned that the 76-year-old woman’s daughter, Julie Edwards, 54, came to the house after an earlier disturbance to gather her clothes, but proceeded to hit her mother in the chest, said VCSO spokesperson Andrew Gant.
The mother grabbed her .22 caliber handgun in response.
Edwards began hitting her mother again, but the mother warned her she would shoot Edwards if she continued, Gant said.
Edwards ignored the warning and resumed hitting her mother, which resulted in the mother shooting Edwards in the leg, Gant said.
via orlandosentinel.com
Edwards was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and was later charged with aggravated battery on a person 65 or older.
The mother is not facing any charges.
Edwards is not a stranger to violence, having been arrested on multiple occasions for different crimes.
Edwards has been previously arrested for domestic violence battery, aggravated battery and other charges, Gant said. She is also on probation for a separate incident of aggravated battery on a person 65 or older. Edwards was arrested in February 2019 for a DUI and threatening an officer in an incident captured on an officer body camera, and widely shared online.
After completing treatment at the hospital, Edwards will be sent to jail to face the new charges.
A parent needing to use a form of lethal self-defense against their own child is something I would wish on no one, but the mother in this case felt it necessary to protect herself in this situation. We can’t fault her for that, and are happy to hear that she was able to successfully defend herself, no matter how uncomfortable the dynamic may be.
