GRENADA – A Grenada County man is scheduled to appear in court next week for accidentally shooting his 16-year old son in the stomach. Steven Dale Fortenberry was taken into custody just after 3 a.m., on Nov. 3, after police said he and another man, Billy J. Whitsell, argued in Fortenberry’s home.
The gun, which police said belonged to Fortenberry, discharged just as his teenage son walked into the room. The teen, who lives with his father, was taken to Grenada Lake Medical Center where he underwent emergency surgery. He was listed in stable condition.
Captain James Russell Carver, Chief Investigator with the Grenada Police Department, said authorities had been called to the residence earlier that day after Fortenberry and Whitsell got into an argument in the yard.
“There were no arrests at that time,” Carver said. “And both men had been drinking.”
Carver said later that evening, while the teen was in bed, the two men began to argue again when Fortenberry reportedly retrieved a 9 mm handgun.
“They were tussling over the gun,” Carver said. “Whitsell was trying to keep Fortenberry from shooting him and the gun went off. [The young man] walked into the room right as the gun went off.”
Authorities found the teen on the floor with a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
Fortenberry was arrested and charged with aggravated assault domestic violence and Whitsell was charged with aggravated assault. Bond for both men was set at $10,000. Police also removed more than 20 additional guns from the residence.
“That’s routine,” Carver said. “Whenever you have a domestic related incident, any weapons in the home are removed until court is over. And in this case, most of the guns were registered to Fortenberry, who is scheduled to appear in court next Tuesday.”
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