A Virginia delivery driver who drew his firearm and fatally shot a man this week will not face charges after an investigation by local police led to the conclusion that he was acting in self-defense.
Thirty-seven-year-old Kenneth Baum was shot and killed outside his home in Chesapeake, Virginia on Wednesday afternoon, with neighbors telling local media the incident began when Baum yelled at the driver to slow down as he drove through the neighborhood.
Baum’s older sister, Kandace Tyler, told 13News Now the family is beyond heartbroken, particularly because his young children witnessed the shooting.
Bob Tacconelli, who lives down the street from the shooting scene, said a neighbor told him a delivery driver was speeding through the neighborhood when Baum yelled at the vehicle to slow down because his child was playing in the yard.
Tacconelli said the vehicle then returned, and Baum was shot.
“He was very protective of his son,” Tacconelli said. “This car went flying down the street, and he just yelled slow down, and the car backed up, or turned around and shot him.”
Tacconelli’s second-hand account to local media was missing a few pertinent details, apparently.
According to police, the driver was making a delivery to a home when Baum blocked the man’s SUV as he was trying to leave. That sparked a “verbal altercation” that turned physical when Baum allegedly attacked the driver.
Chesapeake authorities say Baum “armed himself with an edged weapon and confronted the delivery driver again,” threatening him with serious harm while displaying the weapon.
Then, and only then, did the driver draw his pistol and fire a shot, striking and fatally wounding Baum.
Police say they recovered Baum’s “edged weapon” at the scene. The driver didn’t stick around for police to show up, but did contact police to report what happened.
After further investigation and consultation with the Chesapeake Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, detectives determined that no criminal charges will be filed at this time. Police said the decision was based on the totality of the evidence, including witness interviews and video evidence.
I’ve seen investigations into shootings that were ultimately deemed self-defense stretch on for weeks and months, so the fact that the local prosecutor and police were able to determine that no charges were warranted so quickly suggests that the evidence clearly demonstrated that Baum was the initial aggressor and the driver was acting to protect himself.
It’s awful that this incident happened at all, and it’s particularly sad that Baum decided to physically confront and ultimately assault the delivery driver in front of at least one of his children. I can understand getting upset if the driver was, in fact, going too fast down the residential street, but that doesn’t justify blocking the guy in and then physically attacking him, much less going after him with a deadly weapon.
This incident is a reminder to not only take a deep breath and think before lashing out in anger, but to take initial media reports with a grain of salt. I don’t blame Bob Tacconelli, who was just relaying what a neighbor had told him. I do think it was irresponsible of the media outlet to amplify a second-hand account, but even an eyewitness to the encounter might have missed details that were caught on doorbell cameras or witnessed by other neighbors.
When I cite initial reports of what appear to be defensive gun uses, I try to be careful to note that those appearances are based solely on the facts that are available at the time. Some defensive gun uses initially result in an arrest, while some criminal acts are initially thought to be self-defense. It can take time for the full picture to emerge, though again, in this case, it seems like it wasn’t all that difficult for investigators to determine who the initial aggressor was, and who was acting to defend himself.
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