Josh Cross

Gallatin News Examiner

Daryl Lauderdale Sr. and his son were involved in a physical altercation just before police say the 55-year-old shot his son outside a Gallatin residence Sunday afternoon, according to an arrest affidavit.

Gallatin police responded to the shooting at a home in the 500 block of Lincoln Drive around 3:55 p.m., according to Lt. Chris Shockley. Once at the scene, officers found Daryl Spencer Lauderdale Jr., 28, dead outside the residence. Lauderdale Jr. had suffered a gunshot wound from a .38-caliber pistol, the arrest affidavit said.

The elder Lauderdale is charged with first-degree murder and is being held in the Sumner County Jail without bond. Lauderdale Sr. is expected to appear in Sumner County General Sessions Court at 9 a.m. April 20.

The court document does not indicate what the fight was about.

According to the affidavit, Lauderdale Sr. told police that he went inside his home and retrieved the gun from the nightstand in his bedroom.

"Lauderdale Sr. then stated he went back outside with the pistol," Shockley wrote. "Lauderdale Sr. stated that Lauderdale Jr. was coming at him and he fired the pistol two times, striking Lauderdale Jr."

The gun was still in Lauderdale Sr.'s possession when officers arrived, the affidavit said.

An autopsy is scheduled to take place Monday.

Brittany Paris, who was friends with Lauderdale Jr., remembered him as an avid motorcycle enthusiast who was “always smiling.”

“He was very good person… A great mechanic and he raced as well,” Paris said.

Sunday’s shooting came as a shock to Lincoln Drive resident Robert Stevenson, who said Monday that he did not find out about what happened until he walked out of his home and saw police cars lining the street.

“Of course it was a surprise,” Stevenson said. “It’s a good street to live on. There ain’t nothing like this really ever happen in this neighborhood.”

A review of Sumner County court records Monday showed Lauderdale Sr. was found guilty of public intoxication in June 2010. No other criminal offenses were listed.

The homicide is the second to be reported in Gallatin this year. Chad Wells Peveler and Amber Marie Peveler were found dead inside their home on Yale Street last month in what police said appeared to be a murder-suicide.

Reach Josh Cross at jcross@mtcngroup.com or at 615-575-7115. Follow him on Twitter @joshcross.