Alaska man fatally shoots his 87-year-old granny, claims it was mercy killing: cops

An Alaska man fatally shot his 87-year-old grandma in the head as she sat in her wheelchair — then claimed to cops it was akin to a mercy killing, authorities said.

Brian Davenport, 29, was arrested for murdering his ailing grandmother, Velma Koontz, on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Fairbanks Police Department.

KTUU

Cops responded to a call around 3:45 p.m. and discovered Koontz dead, sitting in her wheelchair inside her home, with a gunshot wound to the back of her head.

Her husband Keith told police he had gone to the store and returned to find his gun outside and his wife’s body, cops said.

“Officers made contact with the victim’s grandson, Brian Davenport, and he immediately stated that he had killed someone,” police said.

Davenport later “admitted to stealing his grandfather’s handgun and killing his grandmother,” they said.

The gun-wielding grandson allegedly told cops that he planned to kill someone else but “changed his mind” and gunned down his grandmother instead.

Davenport told police in statements that he wanted his grandmother to go peacefully and “didn’t want her to worry about the legacy she left behind,” according to court documents obtained by Alaska News Source. It was not clear what he meant about her “legacy.”

He copped to police that he knew killing people was wrong but compared his actions to “pulling the plug” on someone, according to authorities.

Detectives later learned from Keith Koontz that his wife was under hospice care and had been diagnosed with cancer, the outlet said.

Davenport was arraigned Wednesday in an anti-suicide smock, and a judge ordered that his bail be set at $5 million, noting she believed that some mental-health issues were at play despite him not having any prior criminal convictions.

At the hearing, Velma Koontz’s son, George Koontz, pleaded with the court not to release Davenport, citing previous behavioral issues, according to Alaska News Source.

“He has a history of not taking his medication, and he’s a danger to the public,” George told the courtroom.