Shawna Gentry
ON THE RECORD · 7 verbatim quotes · every quote source-verified
“My son saw it on TikTok, came running to me, and I could see the emotion in his face,”
Shawna Gentry · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-16
Gentry described her son's emotional reaction upon seeing news of the Publix attack on TikTok.
“Big old tears welled up in his eyes and he said, 'Mom, the guy that hit me just stabbed an old man at Publix. You were right.'”
Shawna Gentry · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-16
Gentry recalled her son tearfully telling her that the man who had hit him had just stabbed an old man at Publix and that she had been right.
“He immediately said, 'Well, I've got mental health issues.' He was so quick to use that word.”
Shawna Gentry · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-16
Gentry said Lyons immediately cited mental health issues to the sheriff, which she believed was a calculated legal shield.
“The first thing out of my son's mouth to the sheriff back in 2025 was that if that man had a gun or a knife, he wouldn't be here today. Now an innocent senior citizen is in the hospital because the system refused to hold him accountable.”
Shawna Gentry · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-16
Gentry said her son warned the sheriff in 2025 that Lyons could have killed someone with a weapon, and now an innocent senior citizen was hospitalized.
“The way the court handled it, the way the state attorney handled it was very odd to me,”
Shawna Gentry · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-16
Gentry criticized how the court and state attorney handled Lyons' prior assault case after his probation was terminated early.
“They told us they were sending him to a mental health facility, but he never went to a secured place. From what we saw, they just put him right back onto outpatient probation in our neighborhood and cut us completely out of the process.”
Shawna Gentry · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-16
Gentry said officials told her Lyons would be sent to a mental health facility, but he was instead placed back on outpatient probation in her neighborhood.
“When the sheriff came, it was almost like he knew exactly what to say,”
Shawna Gentry · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-16
Gentry said Lyons seemed to know exactly what to say when the sheriff arrived after the 2025 assault on her son.