He thought someone was stealing his truck on Christmas Eve, so he shot at the tailgate as it pulled away, relatives of the Alabama man say.
It wasn’t a thief, though. It was the man’s son, borrowing the truck, family members told WIAT in Birmingham.
The bullet struck 22-year-old Logan Wayne Trammell of Cullman, Ala., who died a few hours later on Christmas day.
"It was just a horrific accident. A horrific accident. My brother thought someone was stealing his truck, never realized it was Logan because he didn’t live down here all the time, he lived with my mom and dad," Trammell’s aunt, Tammy Jacobs, told the TV station.
"And he was supposed to be in the bed. And he’s never come and got one of his dad’s vehicles before."
Jacobs poured her despair into a Facebook post on Christmas morning.
"Dear Lord Please take care of this sweet boy!!! My heart is shattered to a million pieces. I will miss your precious smile, your silly (sense) of humor, your good ideas and your beautiful voice!!" she wrote.
"You are and will always be my favorite singer! Keep singing in HEAVEN Logan Trammell I LOVE YOU!! I can only imagine the song you have wrote about HEAVEN and can’t wait to one day hear you sing it!!!"
The Cullman County Sheriff’s department was investigating the shooting, according to local media outlets.
Family members say Trammell’s father didn’t know he was borrowing the truck when he drove away from his parents’ home about 11:30 p.m. Sunday.
They say the father thought someone was stealing the truck so he yelled out and fired a warning shot into the air. Then he shot once at the tailgate, they claim.
They described Trammell as a young musician who wrote songs and dreamed of being a professional country singer. He also worked in construction.
He posted videos of himself on his Facebook page. In one earlier this month he performed a song called "Comin’ Home."
Family members said his father loves music, too, and was recording music in a camper parked next to his shop when he saw his truck being driven up the driveway.
"And he shot and hollered, and he said it sped up, and he shot toward the truck again, and it’s dark, and he said, ‘I shot toward the tailgate, and the truck stopped,’" Jacobs told WIAT.
"And he said, ‘I walked up there, you know, hollering get out, I didn’t know who was in my truck,’ and still never realized that it was Logan until he got the door open and he realized who it was."
Trammell is survived by his parents, Wayne and Tonya Trammell; his sister, Natalie, two sets of grandparents and several aunts, uncles, cousins and extended family members, according to his obituary.
"Love your family every chance you get," Trammell’s aunt, Stacey Tankersley, told WIAT.
"’Cause you never know when the last time you’re gonna see someone, or the last chance you’re gonna get to hug them. Or tell them that you love them."
Trammell’s funeral is Saturday.
(c)2017 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.