Mom Of Teen Runaway Killed In Bordeaux Shooting Sues DCS

NASHVILLE, TN -- The mother of a 14-year-old shot dead in June, two weeks after running away from a DCS foster home, is suing the department and its top officials.

Tirell Hall, who police said escaped from state custody in Antioch late May, died June 9 after he was shot numerous times on Phipps Drive in Bordeaux in what investigators believe was a "targeted shooting."

Detectives say Hill was shot by someone who got out of a black Nissan Altima with dark tinted windows and a spoiler on the trunk. Hill did not have any known ties to the area and witnesses suggested that the shooter or shooters were unfamiliar with the neighborhood, as they drove down a dead-end in an attempt to flee.

In the suit filed in federal court, Hill's mother, Jessica Barefield, says she sought counseling for her son before his arrests on drug and gun charges. She said she hoped the Department of Children's Services would provide him with care in a secure place.

After a stint in a halfway house, Hill was placed into a secure facility in Gallatin. The suit said he initially struggled, but eventually thrived at the Sumner County facility and performed well academically. Eventually, however, he escaped despite the facility being secured with a heavy iron door and arranged a ride away from the facility, even though DCS was supposed to limit the children in its custody from contacting the outside world. Eventually, his mother located him and, as required by law, turned him over to DCS in hopes he'd return to the secure Sumner County facility, because she thought he would run away from a foster home.

Hill's spot had been filled in the time since he ran away and DCS, under the standard late-spring strain, placed Hill in the Antioch foster home, from where he ran away before his death.

The suit claims violations of Hill's due process rights and seeks undisclosed damages.

A department spokesman declined comment, citing the pending litigation.

Photo via Metro Nashville Police