Amos Patton receives 50 years for 2013 armory shooting - WMC Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee

A former Tennessee National Guard soldier was sentenced to 50 years in prison for shooting three people at the Millington National Guard Armory in 2013.

Amos Patton tried to kill four of his commanding officers after he was put on leave following a sexual misconduct investigation.

"It's something that we still deal with daily," Sgt. Maj. Rickey McKenzie said.

McKenzie was one of the three officers shot in the attack. He was in court Thursday to see Patton receive his punishment, nearly two years after the shooting.

"They told us from the beginning it was going to be a long process, but they did a professional job." McKenzie said.

On October 24, 2013 Patton met with his superiors regarding sexual misconduct complaints made against him.

Lt. Col. Hunter Belcher recommended Patton lose his full-time job, his rank, and be removed from being a recruiter. No decisions were made that day, but Patton was put on a 15-day leave of absence.

After Patton was escorted out to his car to retrieve government property, he came back in and confronted Belcher began. This time Patton pulled a loaded pistol out of his fanny pack and fired six rounds.

McKenzie says the shooting ended his military career, but he says he's found a way to forgive Patton.

"I hold no malice toward him, but the law is the law, and when you break the law, you have to serve the time."

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