Married father now paralyzed after a business trip to Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A scrap metal dealer came to Memphis to buy car parts from a regular customer. It was while he waited on the customer that his life changed forever.

Tommy White, a 38-year-old married father of four and Ripley, Tenn. resident, is now paralyzed from the chest down after being shot during a robbery in Memphis at the end of June.

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“It’s not fair. It’s not fair for him. It’s not fair to any of us,” Rebecca, White’s wife, said.

Rebecca White says it’s not fair that her husband is paralyzed and now sits in a hospital bed in his living room.

Tommy White was parked at Lamar and Bellevue around 3 p.m. near the Checkers waiting for a customer who had car parts to sell him. Then two men with the AK-47s approached his vehicle and threatened him. White says he gunned his truck, and that’s when the men shot him. He ended up crashing into the sign at the Lamplighter Inn sign across the street.

“Two guys came up to both sides of the truck with AK-47s and pointed the gun at me and told me to give them the money or they’re going to kill me,” he said.

White says he doesn’t know where the men came from.

“I can’t work. I can’t get out and do the things I want to do. I always wanted to do spend time with my kids outside,” White said.

He and his wife’s children range from seven to 16 years old. They have been helping out since the life-changing incident.

“They should be out here playing ball and they can’t do that. Dad needs help getting dressed. Dad needs help brushing his teeth. Dad can’t get up and cook his own meal anymore,” White said.

White says he was aware that Memphis can be dangerous and that he was careful. He even had a t-shirt saying ’I survived Memphis.’

Even though tragedy struck the Whites, the couple is very generous in their feelings about the suspects.

“I want justice, but I also want them to change their lives,” he said.

White doesn’t have much of a description of the suspects - just two guys in their early 20s, one with long dreads and the other with short hair.

Click here to find a GoFundMe account set up.

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