One Dead After Twin Brothers Pull Guns on Each Other

By Laura Mulrooney

Just before sunset on Sunday, October 18, twin brothers Mathias and Thomas Parkinson-Freeman, 23, and a mutual friend sat in a 1995 Nissan Pathfinder parked outside a house in the 5000 block of 25th Avenue South.

According to the Gulfport Police Department, the three were talking and joking, and there was no indication of conflict.

Police say Mathias pulled out a handgun and pointed it at his brother, at which point Thomas pulled out his own handgun, pointed it at his brother’s head and pulled the trigger. Mathias died at the scene.

According to the GPD, Thomas said that he reacted automatically based on “previous training.”

Based on information provided by Thomas, detectives concluded that Thomas was not acting in self-defense because he told the detectives he was unafraid and did not believe his brother had any intention of shooting him.

Thomas told police officers that he does not know why he shot his brother.

Police reported that at the time of the shooting, Thomas was wearing a gun belt from his previous job as a security guard for Dunbar; he owned the weapon.

Officers found a pipe with marijuana residue in the vehicle; detectives do not know if any of the men were under the influence at the time.

Thomas has been charged with manslaughter, a felony of the second degree. Thomas bonded out from Pinellas County Jail as of Monday, October 19.