In the summer of 2015, the life of Thomas Anthony Tiernan, a 19-year-old White/Caucasian male from Lebanon, Maine, was tragically cut short. On August 9th, inside his family home, Thomas was fatally wounded by a shotgun blast. A graduate of Noble High School in 2014, he was a student at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham at the time of his death. Thomas was known as a kind and loving son, brother, and grandson with a wonderful imagination and an excellent sense of humor. He was also a passionate advocate for people with disabilities, having been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome as a child, and he worked to educate others about autism.
The events of that August day led to an investigation that pointed to a heartbreaking accident. In December 2015, a York County grand jury indicted Thomas's older brother, 20-year-old James Tiernan, on a charge of reckless or criminally negligent manslaughter. According to the indictment, a Remington 870 Express 20-gauge shotgun was the weapon involved in the fatal incident.
In February 2016, James Tiernan pleaded not guilty to the charge. Prosecutors in the case indicated that their investigation found no evidence to suggest that James intended to cause his brother's death. They characterized the shooting as a tragic accident. Following the indictment, James turned himself in to the authorities and was released on $5,000 bail. The case highlighted the devastating consequences of unintentional firearm incidents within a family.
