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Man Killed Trying To Protect Daughter In Indiana Co.

NORTH MAHONING TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- A man was killed while trying to protect his daughter when her estranged husband showed up at the door with a handgun and a rifle.

Jessica Fairman filed for divorce from her husband, Shaun Fairman. He received the papers on Saturday.

He's now in the Indiana County Jail charged with killing her father, 55-year-old Richard Shotts, after showing up at their home under the influence of alcohol, apparently enraged about the divorce.

"The father at that time got up and confronted Shaun who was on a porch and there was an argument that ensued," State Police Lt. Bernard Petrovsky said.

Police say gunfire was exchanged between Shotts and Fairman, with the father who was there to protect his family, taking a fatal gunshot to the neck.

"In many ways, I think Mr. Shotts is a hero," Indiana County District Attorney Pat Dougherty said. "He was there defending his daughter and grandchildren."

Jessica Fairman grabbed a gun of her own, sent her two children, ages two and four, to the attic to hide with her mother. She then hid as her estranged husband searched the house looking for her.

"She heard him – the breaking the glass – coming through the window and she could hear him walking with the heavy footsteps and she knew he was coming up the steps," Petrovsky said.

Then Jessica Fairman fired three shots, hitting her estranged husband twice.

"She stood over top of him, holding him at bay with her .22 revolver and that's what he was shot with," Petrovsky said.

The district attorney says Jessica Fairman should not face any charges in this case. He says she was basically backed into a corner and she was protecting herself when she fired those shots.

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