Police: Father fatally shot 11-year-old daughter after her first day of school

HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. — Police in Tennessee say the father of an 11-year-old girl who was fatally shot in a suburb north of Nashville has been arrested.

Hendersonville police tell news outlets that 29-year-old Timothy Batts was arrested on reckless homicide, tampering with evidence, false reporting and other charges in connection with the shooting death of Timea Lashay Batts.

Detective Sgt. Jim Vaughn originally said the girl's father said she told him when she arrived from school on Monday that she had been shot. Timothy Batts drove her to a hospital, where she died.

However, police now say they determined Timea Batts had been shot inside the home.

The child had just returned home from her first day of school when the shooting occurred.

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According to the Tennessean, Batts told officers that he was asleep Monday afternoon when a sound woke him up. He grabbed his gun and fired at Timea after she startled him, accidentally shooting her, he reportedly told police.

"The defendant came to the police department later and stated he wanted to tell the truth about what happened, and admitted the story he previously told was not the truth," the arrest affidavit said, according to the Tennessean. "The defendant removed the gun from the scene and stated the gun was now in Nashville."​

It isn't immediately clear if Timothy Batts has an attorney.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Cox Media Group