Father Says His Son's Death Wasn't Justified

A father wants answers about why his son died in a hail of gunfire Thursday night. Aaron Clark Gray, 24, was shot and killed by Spartanburg County sheriff's deputies after he allegedly backed a car toward deputies while attempting to escape arrest. Gray was allegedly caught in a drug sting operation being run by the county's narcotics unit. The Spartanburg County Coroner's Office said Gray died from a gunshot wound to the head, but wouldn't comment on the extent of Gray's injuries or the number of gunshot wounds he suffered. Kenneth Clark Landrum said he was told his son was hit multiple times. "He was shot in the head once, under the left eye once, under the chin and two times in the heart. Five shots is what the coroner representative showed me on paper. At that time, I just couldn't believe it," he said. Landrum said Gray was a good kid who made some mistakes. He said that even if his son was buying or selling drugs at the time, it does not give deputies an excuse to kill him. Landrum said he has contacted the Atlanta office of the Rainbow/PUSH coalition, which told him it would contact the South Carolina attorney general and the U.S. Justice Department to ask for an investigation. [more]