A Grand Bay man was shot dead by a woman fearing for her life and that of her 8-year-old child, according to the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.

Around midnight Saturday, deputies responded to a residence on Fred Freeland Road in Grand Bay after a report of a shot fired.

Entering the home, they found a male subject, identified as Oliver Turner, dead from an apparent gunshot wound.

The homeowner, 80-year-old Lee Eubanks, told deputies Turner was a friend who had been living in Eubanks’ home for several days. Saturday night, Turner had been “drinking heavily and acting belligerently,” Eubanks said.

With Turner becoming increasingly “out of his mind,” Eubanks said, Turner attempted to set the home on fire with himself, Eubanks and his niece, Michelle Jones, and Jones’ 8-year-old daughter inside.

Jones and the child were residents in Eubanks’ home.

Jones told deputies she returned home Saturday night and also found Turner acting belligerently and, not long after arriving, discovered the exterior of the house was on fire.

Jones also told investigators she had at one point tried to go to bed, but Turner dragged her into a bathroom and tried to pour acetone on her. Jones fled the bathroom and ran to get her daughter, she said.

After taking the child outside and placing her inside a vehicle, Jones ran back in to check on Eubanks and went into her room to retrieve a revolver for protection.

As she exited the bedroom, Turner approached her and she fired one shot out of fear for her life, according to the sheriff’s department.

Investigators noticed scratch marks on Jones’ neck and a minor injury to her right-hand palm. Those injuries along with other evidence gathered at the scene “were consistent with Jones’ statement,” according to the MCSO.

Investigators found Turner had an extensive criminal history which included a 2021 arrest for 1st-degree arson.

No charges have been filed. Once the investigation is complete, the sheriff’s office will turn the case over to the district attorney’s office to present to a grand jury.