The father of the teenager admits feeling partly responsible for his 17-year-old son’s death.
The father of a teen slain in a Hermitage apartment complex feels responsible for not averting his son’s death as authorities hunt for the perpetrators. Ricky McGlothen regrets not preventing the tragedy and is now left with only a makeshift memorial where his son once stood. He described the profound shock he experienced upon receiving the devastating phone call on March 23.
Metro Nashville Police said a group of three people pulled up to the apartment complex in a U-Haul on that Saturday afternoon. They said the group fired off dozens of bullets, hitting Ricky’s son, 17-year-old Camron McGlothen, and his friend, 18-year-old Reginald Smart.
“My son was on the ground,” McGlothen said.
The U-Haul sped off. Paramedics said Smart died at the scene. Camron McGlothen died after arriving at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
McGlothen expressed the weight of his son’s life journey, born at Vanderbilt and passing away at the same hospital. He acknowledges the burden of living with this fact. Additionally, he reflects on his own experiences, surviving multiple shootings and accidents, and regrets not being able to convey the seriousness of life’s dangers to his son. This sense of guilt accompanies his memories of his beloved child.
Camron was full of energy. He was a good kid and an average teenager,” McGlothen said. “He wasn’t perfect, but I adored him, I cherished him and loved him dearly.”
McGlothen said he’s praying for police to track down the shooters.
