Man fatally shoots his 24-year-old son

A father in Coalmont, Tennessee, shot his 24-year-old son dead Friday night in what has initially been described as an act of self defense.

When deputies from the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office got to Dale Nolan’s home on Ranger Creek Road around 8:45 p.m. Friday, they found his son, Stone Nolen, on the living room floor with a single gunshot wound to his upper torso, Sheriff Clint Shrum said in a statement.

Shrum said Stone Nolan had been shot by his 56-year-old father.

Stone Nolan was taken to Emerald Hodgson Hospital in Sewanee, where he was pronounced dead, officials said.

“The preliminary findings in this incident lead us to believe this was a case of self-defense,” Shrum said. “As with any shooting death, we will put together our findings and turn them over to the 12th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for review.”

The younger man allegedly had a weapon that led to shots being fired, District Attorney General Mike Taylor said Monday. Taylor said sheriff’s office detectives are handling the investigation.

Shrum said in the statement he issued on Friday that Stone Nolan had been arrested on a couple of occasions on allegations of domestic assault and vandalism at the residence.

Stone Nolan’s body has been sent for an autopsy, he said.

Ranger Creek Road is a dead-end road off State Route 56 near the intersection with State Route 108.

Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www. facebook.com/benbenton1.