Gwinnett man convicted of shooting that left victim paralyzed

A mugshot of George Harris wasn’t immediately available.

Credit: juriyrus / Flickr

Credit: juriyrus / Flickr

A mugshot of George Harris wasn’t immediately available.

What began as an argument at a storage facility left one man paralyzed and the other convicted of two felonies.

George J. Harris, 68, has been convicted of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of a felony.

Harris was at a storage facility on Dec. 28, 2015 when he got into an argument with another man. Harris followed the man as he walked to his vehicle, cursing at him. As the man drove away, Harris made shooting motions with his hand, according to a release from the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office.

After that man left, another person arrived at the storage facility to load boxes into a unit. “Still incensed” over the previous argument, Harris and his sister then began yelling at the victim and asked if he was “looking for trouble,” according to the release.

Harris’ 95-year-old mother approached the man as Harris and his sister were yelling and also began yelling at him and poking him in the chest.

Harris went to his car and got a gun. He approached the man’s car and shot him in the chest, severing his spinal cord and puncturing a lung.

Harris claimed he shot the man in self defense. The bullet entered the right side of the man’s chest and exited through the left side of his back, indicating he was turning away from Harris when he was shot. The jury found that Harris was not justified in shooting the man and convicted him on Aug. 17 after a three-day trial.

Harris will be sentenced Aug. 25 at 9 a.m.

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