AndrewBlakeMemphis, TN – A Memphis mother called the police on Tuesday as soon as she recognized her son in a video of an attempted armed robbery on the news.
Adrian Perry said she didn’t have any other choice but to turn in her son, Derriontay Perry, after she saw him with a gun on surveillance video that was released by police on April 24, WHBQ-TV reported.
“I love him. This is what you call tough love – something a lot of parents need to start doing,” Adrian Perry said, according to WHBQ.
On April 22, a man approached a residence in the Whitehaven area and asked a person for a ride, police said.
When the victim refused, the man pointed a handgun at the victim and asked for the keys, according to WMC-TV.
The victim’s wife saw what was happening and got a handgun. She fired a warning shot in the air and the suspect ran.
The suspect fired two shots at the woman as he fled, and she returned fire, WHBQ reported.
“And you out here armed and dangerous? No, I don’t condone that,” Adrian Perry told WHBQ.
“I want to thank you young lady for not coming out of that door and shooting my baby on site,” Adrian Perry said, according to WHBQ.
The mother apologized to the victims, two of whom were in town visiting from Florida, on behalf of her son.
“I am so sorry, I don’t know how to say it enough. I am sorry that your visit to Memphis had to be like that because of my disobedient, disrespectful child,” Adrian Perry said, according to WHBQ.
Derriontay Perry, 20, was arrested April 25 without incident.
He was charged with aggravated assault and aggravated robbery and held on a $100,000 bond.
His mother told reporters that jail was the safest place for her son to be.