Harrisburg murder: Sister believes her brother was not intended target

HARRISBURG - Aaron Paul Gregory Jr. was a kind, caring person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, one of his sisters believes.

Brandi Gregory, one of Gregory's three sisters, said her brother, who was shot and killed Friday in a Harrisburg house, said he was the youngest in the family. One sister, Khiya, lives in Harrisburg while another, Alexis, lives in Texas.

"He was the baby of our family," Brandi Gregory, 37, said.

On the day that was to be his last, Aaron Gregory was preparing for a new career, Brandi said.

"He was supposed to take his physical today (Friday) to begin his career in truck driving," she said. "Like our father."

Aaron Paul Gregory Sr., their father, was killed in a shooting in Herrin in 1999.

Brandi Gregory said the manner in which her brother was killed is particularly upsetting, because he was not involved with the people she believes are responsible.

"From what I've heard, their aggression was toward someone else who was in the house with Aaron and not directly toward him," she said. "He was actually asleep when these people approached the house and shot inside of it. Innocent bystander."

Authorities have not confirmed or denied her assertion, saying they are still investigating.

Brandi, who has split time between Harrisburg and Carrier Mills and Los Angeles since she was a teen, said believes that the initial response to the shooting, which was just after 6 a.m. Friday, was slow.

"My brother bled out for 30 minutes before an ambulance even arrived, and by the time they arrived he was dead," she said.

She also said she and her other family members don't feel safe in Harrisburg any more.

"I mean, how can you protect yourself if you're asleep? If we're not safe in our own homes, where can we go?" she said. "If the police don't provide the help that's needed, what do we do? Who do we call?

"My family isn't rich. We can't just pick up and leave our homes. Where do we go?"

Meanwhile, Brandi said, she will always remember the baby brother who loved sports, fishing and "being goofy."

"He knew there was a bigger, brighter world beyond Carrier Mills. He was a dreamer and he was funny; definitely the one you want on your side during a good roast session," Brandi said.

"He loved the Lakers and Patriots, fishing and beer. He loved the beanies with the pompoms on top. And literally one of the only people I know where no one has ever had a bad thing to say about him."