TRION, Ga. – When she heard officers opened fire Monday afternoon, Deborah Campbell switched on the TV. She hoped she wouldn’t see her son.
She knew police had been looking for 31-year-old Thomas Zane Campbell since March 28, when he skipped the last day of his trial in Catoosa County Superior Court. He told his father his chest hurt, that he needed to go to the hospital. But after a jury convicted him of three counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, and after a judge sentenced him to 13 years in prison, his parents said they couldn’t find him.
Thirteen days passed. Then, around 4 p.m. Monday, Deborah Campbell heard about the officer-involved shooting. She felt numb.
“I don’t know why. I can’t tell you why. I just knew it was him,” she said.
Soon after, a detective called her, confirming her son had been shot on the 3000 block of Halls Valley Spur in Trion. The pilot of a Life Force helicopter was flying him to Erlanger hospital.