PALM BAY, Fla. – A man who claimed self-defense after shooting and killing his father in Palm Bay now faces a first-degree murder charge after video footage revealed him to be the aggressor, according to police.
Brandon Cain, 23, called 911 on July 3 shortly after midnight to report he shot his father — identified as Daniel Cain Jr., 52 — telling dispatchers what he was wearing and where he would leave his gun. Officers responding to the scene along Danbury Street SW detained the 23-year-old, soon seeing him off to the hospital after he complained of chest pain.
Investigators interviewed Cain at the hospital, being told the incident was in self-defense following an earlier verbal altercation between him and his father, according to Cain’s probable cause affidavit.
Come Tuesday, July 9, investigators recovered video footage that captured the shooting, the affidavit states. According to the document, the video shows Daniel Cain Jr. sitting outside near a pickup truck as Brandon Cain can be seen exiting the home, taking one step out of the front door, and drawing a firearm that he immediately conceals behind his body. After Brandon Cain and Daniel Cain Jr. exchanged unheard dialogue, Brandon allegedly began walking toward Daniel.
Daniel Cain Jr. stood and stumbled in the footage as the report notes he was intoxicated and otherwise did not approach Brandon Cain in an aggressive manner. Brandon Cain could then be seen aiming the gun at Daniel Cain Jr. before taking two large lunges and firing multiple rounds at the 52-year-old. After lowering the gun, Brandon Cain then raised it again and fired multiple rounds at his father from about three feet away before returning to the house, the affidavit states.
Cain was detained again Tuesday afternoon and taken to the Palm Bay Police Department where he was read his Miranda rights and claimed again that he shot his father in self-defense. Upon being shown the footage, Cain reportedly told police that he didn’t remember the incident happening that way.
Cain faces charges of first-degree murder, discharging a firearm in public and shooting into an unoccupied vehicle. He’s being held at the Brevard County Jail on no bond.
Note: This map depicts the general area of this shooting and not necessarily its exact location.
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