Dad who fatally shot his ‘bully’ son over biscuits and gravy gets two years’ probation

In the end, a fight over biscuits and gravy made Fred Fleener III “snap.”

The Indiana father said he “couldn’t take it anymore” from his son, Fred Fleener IV.

His son was a “bully,” Fleener told police.

On the morning of Nov. 14, 2015, Fleener, 46, got into an argument with his 22-year-old son at their Indianapolis home. Fleener shot his son, who later died.

This week he got two years probation for the shooting, according to Fox 59 in Indianapolis.

Fleener and other family members told police the younger Fleener had bipolar disorder and other mental health issues, and was often violent and abusive toward the family. He had reportedly stopped taking his medications.

The morning of the shooting, according to the Indianapolis Star, Fleener sent his daughter to get breakfast platters. Her brother got upset when she brought him one, not two platters.

When he started hitting his sister and his cousin who was in a wheelchair, the dad intervened, court documents showed. Fleener shot his son in the chest, which family members told police happened in self-defense, according to Fox 59.

“Dad, you shot me,” the sister heard the brother say.

“I just snapped. I couldn’t take it anymore. He was a bully,” Fleener told police, according to the Star.

His son died at the hospital while undergoing surgery.

Fleener was charged with voluntary manslaughter and reckless homicide. According to Fox 59, he accepted a plea deal and the voluntary manslaughter charge was dropped.

On Tuesday, Fleener was sentenced to two years of probation for reckless homicide.

This story was originally published June 1, 2017 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Dad who fatally shot his ‘bully’ son over biscuits and gravy gets two years’ probation."