A wounded nephew killed his uncle in a shootout — apparently over a prized pet fighting rooster — early Wednesday morning at a Moore Cemetary Road mobile home near Decatur, Tenn., in Meigs County, authorities said. 
 
 Killed in a 2 a.m. hail of gunfire was Timothy Dewayne Johnson, 52, whose body was found in the driveway. His seriously wounded nephew, Larry Eugene Johnson Jr., 28, was inside the trailer when authorities arrived. 
 
 The rooster, reportedly named “Bubba,” is of a variety that’s bred to engage in combat, but had been Timothy Johnson’s “pet” for several years, Meigs County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Alex Clary said. The bird was found tied to a chair outside the trailer. 
 
 “I guess that’s the way these people keep their chickens,” Clary said. “I’m having a hard time believing it was over a chicken.” 
 
 The bird was unharmed and left with food and water within reach. 
 
 Timothy Johnson had arrived at Larry Johnson’s mobile home and confronted his nephew to accuse him of stealing the gamecock, according to a news release from 9th Judicial District Attorney General Russell Johnson. 
 
 Larry Johnson told a bystander his uncle had drawn a gun and that he was trying to grab the gun when he was shot in his chest under his left arm, according to the release. Larry Johnson “retreated and returned fire multiple times with a pistol he was carrying,” according to the release. 
 
 Larry Johnson was armed with a semi-automatic handgun that held 17 shots, the prosecutor said, and authorities estimated at least 11 gunshots were fired. Timothy Johnson, who apparently was standing when shot, was struck four times, authorities said. 
 
 Timothy Johnson fired a single-action .38-caliber revolver. A loaded .22-caliber pistol was found in one of his pockets. 
 
 Larry Johnson was flown by medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, where he was listed in stable condition Thursday afternoon. 
 
 Timothy Johnson’s body was taken to the Regional Forensics Center in Knoxville for an autopsy. 
 
 The district attorney general on Thursday said details remained “kind of fuzzy” over the exact nature of the dust-up between uncle and nephew. 
 
 Meigs County Sheriff Jackie Melton asked for the assistance of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the district attorney general said he gave that go-ahead. Meigs County Sheriff’s Office investigators Clary and Scotty Wiggins are also working the case. 
 
 The prosecutor said his office will await the conclusion of the autopsy and toxicology results and completion of an investigative file before presenting the case to the Meigs County grand jury. That panel next meets in November. ||||| DECATUR (WATE) – A shootout in Meigs County over the alleged theft of a gamecock ended with the rooster’s owner killed and his nephew in the hospital. 
 
 District Attorney Russell Johnson’s office says officials were called to a home on Moore Cemetery Road in Decatur just after 2 a.m. Wednesday morning for a shooting call. Larry Eugene Johnson, Jr. was inside one of two mobile homes on the property with a gunshot wound to the chest. His uncle Timothy Dewayne Johnson was dead from apparent gunshot wounds in the driveway. 
 
 April Johnson, Larry’s wife, was inside the home when this happened. 
 
 “I heard yelling and then I heard gun shots. I heard one gun shot. I heard two gun shots and then I heard multiple gun shots and then I didn’t hear nothing else,” said Johnson. 
 
 Investigators say Timothy Johnson had come to the home and confronted Larry Johnson about the alleged theft of his prized fighting rooster. April says her husband had no part in that. 
 
 “My husband didn’t steal no chicken. We hadn’t seen him in forever,” said April Johnson. 
 
 Then things started to get heated. Apparently, Larry Johnson told someone with him that Timothy Johnson drew a gun. Larry Johnson tried to grab his uncle’s gun when he was shot in the chest. 
 
 That’s when Larry fired back several times with his own gun. His uncle ended up dying in the driveway while he scrambled to get inside the home. 
 
 “He yelled, ‘April, come here. He shot me. Call 911,'” said April Johnson. 
 
 Larry Johnson was flown to UT Medical Center and is still in the intensive care unit, according to family members. His wife said he has two broken ribs along with a punctured lung and a bullet still inside him. 
 
 Timothy Johnson’s family is convinced the rooster was taken by Larry. Johnson While that’s debatable, both sides do agree this shouldn’t have happened. 
 
 “Regardless of grudges or whatever the case may be, this ain’t the way to solve anything because nobody wins in the end,” said April Johnson. 
 
 April Johnson says her husband shot his uncle out of self defense. Both families say the two men had a good relationship and they didn’t expect this to happen. 
 
 Timothy Johnson’s body has been taken for autopsy. The district attorney’s office says once all autopsy and toxicology tests are in, as well as a complete investigative file, the case will be presented to the next Meigs County Grand Jury which meets in late November.
– It has all the trappings of a Tennessee noir: an uncle allegedly dead by his nephew's hand, a gunfight, a mobile home, and a kidnapped fighting rooster tied to a chair. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports police were called to the scene of a deadly shooting early yesterday shortly after 52-year-old Timothy Johnson showed up at his 28-year-old nephew Larry Johnson's mobile home to accuse him of stealing his prized rooster. Larry reportedly claims his uncle pulled a gun on him, so he tried to grab it and was shot in the chest. Police say Larry pulled his own gun in retaliation and launched—in the words of the News Sentinel—a "hail of gunfire" at his uncle. WATE6 reports Timothy was found dead in the driveway, and Larry was airlifted to the hospital for treatment. Officers located the fighting rooster tied to a chair in Larry's mobile home, surprisingly unharmed.