MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A jury has begun deliberating in the trial of a Tennessee National Guard recruiter charged with trying to kill four superiors in an armory shooting north of Memphis.
Three people were wounded in the 2013 shooting. Authorities say Amos Patton began firing at Guard members after he was told he was being removed from his position because a soldier accused him of sexual assault.
Patton's lawyer argues he was trying to commit suicide and started firing wildly when a soldier grabbed him from behind and wrestled to the ground.
Patton faces nine charges.
The jury began deliberating at 1:30 p.m. CST on Thursday. Defense attorneys and prosecutors agreed to leave out the sexual assault allegations because they said it was not relevant to the actual shooting.
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