Tennessee woman shoots homeless man after he asked her to move her Porsche

Katie Layne Quackenbush, 26, of Nashville, Tennessee is now facing attempted murder charges after Shooting a Homeless man, 54-year-old Gerald Melton, who was hospitalized after the shooting.

Metro Police told the Tennessean that Melton was trying to sleep on the sidewalk on August 26 when his rest was disturbed by a Porsche car, blasting him with loud music and exhaust fumes.

When Melton allegedly requested Quackenbush, the owner of the Porsche, to move her car, an argument was sparked.

Homeless man just wanted to sleep

The Washington Post reports that Melton returned to his sleeping spot, but the 26-year-old climbed out of her vehicle, walked over to him and fired two shots at the homeless man. Melton told police that the woman got back into her car and drove away from the scene. Melton was critically wounded in the exchange and was taken to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he is undergoing treatment and remains in a critical condition.

Attempted murder charge for Porsche owner

Quackenbush was charged Monday with attempted murder for the shooting and was jailed on a $25,000 bond. However, her father, Jesse Quackenbush, who is an attorney in Amarillo, Texas, said his daughter was unaware she had hit Melton after their argument. He told the Tennessean that his daughter believed she had fired warning shots at the homeless man.

Giving her side of the story, the father said Melton had approached his daughter and her female friend, seated in the Porsche, and had threatened them and hurled sexists insults at the pair. He said that when Quackenbush began accompanying her friend from the vehicle to go to dinner, she took her gun with her for security.

However, he said Melton again approached his daughter, leading her to warn him she was armed. The father also denied that Melton was sleeping, saying he was “on his feet” the whole time during the incident.

Porsche owner said they were ‘warning shots’

Allegedly feeling threatened, Quackenbush fired two shots at Melton but said they were warning shots and she believed she was pointing away from the homeless man at the time. He did say she admitted to closing her eyes during the gunfire. Meanwhile, she had fired those two shots into Melton’s stomach.

It was reportedly after Quackenbush, and her friend had enjoyed dinner and returned to the car that they found the Porsche was now a crime scene. Quackenbush later handed herself in to police and will be heading to court on October 6.