Inset: O”Neal Robert Matthew Thompson (ECSO). The Florida home where Thompson allegedly shot and killed his uncle (Google Maps).
A 27-year-old man in Florida is accused of killing his uncle over the weekend, fatally shooting the older man after an argument over a broken television escalated into a physical altercation. O’Neal Robert Matthew Thompson was taken into custody on Saturday and charged with one count of murder — dangerous and depraved without premeditation, in the slaying of Thaddeus Williamson, court documents show.
According to a probable cause affidavit, deputies with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office on July 5, 2025, responded to a home in the 200 block of Lakewood Road regarding a “shots-fired disturbance.” The caller said she was Thompson’s grandmother and that he had just shot her son inside the house and fled the scene. She provided the emergency dispatcher with a description of Thompson and what he was wearing.
Thompson was quickly located by authorities and taken into custody a few blocks from the scene, police said.
“During the detention, he made the spontaneous statement that he shot his uncle (Thaddeus Williamson) in self-defense because Thaddeus Williamson was attacking him,” the affidavit states. “O’Neal Thompson was searched, and a Taurus G2c 9mm was located on his person.”
At the residence, medics made contact with Williamson, who was bleeding and appeared to be suffering from several gunshot wounds. Emergency Medical Services transported him to a local hospital for treatment, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the facility.
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In a post-Miranda interview with detectives, Thompson allegedly continued to claim that he acted in self-defense when killing his uncle. He claimed that his uncle was giving him a TV, but the two got into an argument because the TV wasn’t working, police said. At some point during the argument, Thompson said his uncle “became physical” and “started fighting him,” so he went outside and called his mother and told her about it.
While outside, Thompson said his uncle was yelling at him through the closed front door. When he went back in, he claimed Williamson got “aggressive” with him and “postured as if he were about to fight.”
“Thompson stated that he tried to get Thaddeus Williamson to stop being aggressive with him because he did not want to fight,” the affidavit says. “He stated that he then brandished his firearm which he had concealed along his front waistline and cocked it. He stated that he did this to get Thaddeus Williamson to stop. He then stated that Thaddeus Williamson asked him, ‘What are you going to do, shoot me?’ He stated that Thaddeus Williamson continued to be aggressive with him even after he showed his firearm.”
Thompson said his uncle never made an attempt to take the gun from him, but he “felt that his life was in danger, so he decided to shoot.” He could not recall how many times he fired, police said.
Pressed by police about why he thought his life was in danger, Thompson allegedly said he did not know if his uncle was armed and did not know what the other man might do.
However, Thompson’s grandmother told police that Thompson came to the house already “very angry” and “started an argument” with his uncle. She said the confrontation became physical and she separated them before turning around and starting to walk away.
“Very shortly after she turned around, she heard several gunshots,” the affidavit says. “She immediately turned back around and saw O’Neal Thompson with a firearm in his hands and Thaddeus Williamson on the floor.”
Thompson was booked into the Escambia County Jail, where he is currently being held without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court for his arraignment on July 25, 2025, records show.
