Local

Ocala man who shot 18-year-old to protect juvenile wants to help keep neighborhood safe

Standing in front of what’s left of his burned-out home, Edridge Rivers talked about what happened last month when he said he was forced to open fire on two teenagers, killing one.
“I feel really bad about this situation,” Rivers said.
Rivers’ son had been beaten up earlier at a high school basketball game.
Two of his son’s friends went to his home on Northwest First Avenue near Northwest 21st Place to tell him what happened, and Rivers went to go check on his son.
While the two friends were still at the home, Jeffrey Scott and Marcus Cooper pulled up and blocked them in.
Police said Scott confronted one of the teenagers, who had intervened in the earlier fight, at gunpoint.
Rivers pulled up and saw what was going on.
Police said he told Scott to drop the gun, but when Scott refused, police said Rivers opened fire and the two then exchanged gunfire.Scott was killed.
The incident was captured on surveillance video.
Cooper was struck and is now paralyzed from the waist down.
Rivers was detained, but ultimately he was cleared because of the "stand your ground" law.
He said the incident has inspired him to do more to help the community.
“I want to work with the local leaders and the police department to get illegal guns off the streets,” he said.
Days after the shooting, police said someone purposely set Rivers' home on fire.
The case is still under investigation.
Myrt Price

Myrt Price, WFTV.com

Myrt Price joined the eyewitness news team as a general assignment reporter in October of 2012.