GULFPORT, Fla. — Police in Gulfport say a 23-year-old man is facing a manslaughter charge after he shot and killed his twin brother on Sunday night.
According to police, Thomas Parkinson-Freeman and his twin Mathias were sitting in a vehicle in front of their home with a friend just after 7 p.m. talking and joking.
Police say at one point Mathias pulled out a concealed handgun and pointed it at his brother Thomas, who in turn pulled out his own gun and pointed it back at him.
Thomas pulled the trigger and Mathias was hit in the face, police say. He was "mortally wounded," according to a press release.
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Thomas was wearing a gun belt leftover from a former job as a security officer with a personal handgun at the time, the release says. According to police, he was wearing it to show it off to others.
Detectives say Thomas was not acting in self-defense. They say he told them he was not in fear at the time and didn't believe his brother would shoot him but he said he reacted "automatically" based on training and didn't know why he did so.
Thomas was charged with manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and taken to the Pinellas County Jail. His bond has not been set at this time.
