Police clarify questions about Friday nights shootings that left two men dead

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Bowling Green police are answering a few questions from the public involving a double homicide that occurred this weekend in the O’Charley’s parking lot.

Bowling Green Police Department spokesman Officer Ronnie Ward said there have been many questions on social media platforms about the incident involving the charges against one man as well as whether the incident was random or if those involved knew each other.

Friday night, two men were shot in the parking lot of O’Charley’s on Scottsville Road. One died at the scene. The died in an area hospital.

Police say Elijsha Taylor and Michael Russell, were in an altercation before Taylor shot Russell, who later died at an area hospital.

After seeing Taylor shoot Russell, Terry Stice is accused of firing numerous rounds at Taylor, killing him.

“We are still not releasing quite a bit of information. There is quite a bit of information that won’t be released for quite some time. However, there are a few things that we can make clear, one of those being that Stice and Russell knew each other. Stice was not a random person that just showed up,” Ward said.

Officials say a third party then hit Stice with a vehicle and drove away.

Police say Stice fired more shots at the vehicle and is now charged with two counts of attempted murder, one count each for the people inside the vehicle.

“The way that the evidence suggest was that the vehicle was leaving the area, and Stice continued to fire rounds at them. With two people being in the car that is where the two counts of attempted murder came from,” said Ward.

Stice is not charged with Taylor’s shooting death at this time.

Under Kentucky law, the use of deadly force can be considered justifiable when a person believes deadly force is necessary to protect a third party against imminent death.

Officials also say the incident was not a random shooting.

“This was not just some random act. This was the result of an ongoing dispute of all of the people that were there that night,” said Ward.