Little Emma Nowling went to her soccer practice Thursday evening not knowing that it would be her last day on earth.
Emma and her mother, Sharon Watson, were shot by a family friend after the girl’s practice. The friend had reportedly been experiencing paranoia. Watson is in stable but serious condition at a local hospital. Emma Nowling died of a gunshot to the head. The man, Timothy Nelson Obeshaw, took his own life.
According to authorities in Taylor, Michigan, where the crime took place, Obeshaw had a valid concealed carry permit and had purchased the gun he used legally.
Taylor police Chief Mary Sclabassi said Obeshaw had been extremely paranoid and thought people were trying to control him through mind control:
“He thought someone was out to get him. Unfortunately, it appears as a result of his (instability) we now have a little girl who simply just wanted to go yesterday to play soccer, and never went home.”
Oddly, Obeshaw had attended Nowling’s practice sessions in the past and on Thursday reportedly had a pleasant interaction with Nowling and her mother. However, shortly after the child’s practice, witnesses saw him shoot into the vehicle carrying Nowling and Watson before he turned the gun on himself.
Chief Sclabassi remarked:
“Of course, this is a tragic situation and the thought that maybe if the right person had the right information at the right time could have prevented this, of course it’s very frustrating. Clearly this was an individual who needed help. Clearly this is an individual who should not have been able to purchase a handgun just this past September.”
Yet he was, and now a little girl is dead and her family must somehow learn to live without her.
