Man shot while searching for fugitive

BRISTOL, Tenn. -

A Bristol, Tennessee man's effort to find a fugitive costs him his life. Police tell us he died during a struggle while trying to find a fugitive for a local bonding company.

We discovered the victim hoped to get a reward for bringing the man in, but wound up with the wrong person and being shot with his own gun.

William Henson says a man came to his door on Brookside Drive in Bristol, Tennessee Thursday night. Henson thought he was a bail bondsman. because he showed him a picture of a man who looked like one of his neighbors.

Bristol, Tennessee police tell us 32-year-old Joseph Scott Horne was in the trailer park trying to find a fugitive for a local bonding company to get the reward. Henson says Horne and his girlfriend were waiting in a car in the driveway when his neighbor came home just after midnight. "He went over there, jerked the man's door open on his truck and shoved the gun in and the guy grabbed it. And then the fight was on," he said.

He claims that's when three shots were fired; the last one was deadly. "The old man reached up, pulled the trigger and shot him. Hilled him instantly," Henson explained.

Police say Horne died from a single gunshot wound. The other man was treated at Bristol Regional Medical Center, where he was treated for cuts on his head and a gun shot graze under his eye.

Horne's girlfriend was still in the car, unaware of what had happened.

More facts according to Bristol, Tennessee police -- the man Horne had the struggle with was not the wanted fugitive. So far, his name has not been released.

The shooting is still under investigation. So far, no charges have been filed. We checked and police confirm to News 5 that Horne was not an employee of the bonding company.

We also looked at records and discovered Horne did not have a valid handgun carry permit in Tennessee.