02/07/10- Madison County

By: Mallory Cooke
mcooke@wbbjtv.com
6:15 p.m.
 
Jackson Police continued to search for two teenagers Sunday they said are responsible for shooting an elderly man. Police said he refused to give the young people a ride and fork over his wallet.
 
Gayle Stephenson described her community at Timberlake Estates as quiet, peaceful, and private. "We do walk. It is a perfect area to walk and get your exercise and I do not ever think anything about walking at night by myself," said Stephenson.
 
That changed Saturday. "Well, I just could not believe it, a shooting, like this took place in this area," said Stephenson.
 
According to the Jackson Police Department, two teenagers shot a 78-year-old elderly man outside his home around noon. Stephenson claimed the young people asked her neighbor for a ride, but he said no. "They they asked for his wallet and Jim obviously said no, and they shot him," she said.
 
The victim spends his days in a motorized wheelchair, but that does not stop him from helping others. "If they flagged him down for some reason, and he thought they needed help, he would have stopped," said Stephenson.
 
One Timberlake Estates resident declined to comment on camera out of fear. She believed the shooting could have been part of a gang initiation.
 
From now on, things will be different for Stephenson. "I will probably get some kind of spray or something to put in my pocket when I go walking," she said.
 
Friends expect the victim to pull through. 
 
Both suspects are young black males between 5'6'' and 5'8'', slim, and possibly 15 or 16-years-old. They were both wearing blue and/or gray hoodies pulled over their heads.