Miami Gardens man testifies he needed to shoot ex-girlfriend to ‘stop a threat’

During his attempted murder trial on Wednesday, a Miami Gardens man who shot his fiancée many times almost four years ago stated that he did so in self-defense. Gayle Blount took the stand on the second day of his trial in an attempt to persuade the jury that he was the victim who had to shoot his ex-girlfriend roughly five times in order to protect himself inside a Miami Gardens condominium in May 2021. After being shot, Bridget Knighton suffered injuries all over her body and has had over ten surgeries. “I was only attempting to neutralize a danger. During his stand on Wednesday, Blount stated, “I was trying to incapacitate her, but not kill her.”

Blount claimed that because he had switched on the TV in the bedroom, the couple was fighting. He said that as a veteran, he needed background sounds to fall asleep, but Knighton reportedly became agitated. Knighton told jurors during her testimony on Tuesday that she wanted her ex out of the flat because he was often violent. Blount told jurors that during the argument, he pushed Knighton to the couch in an attempt to move her aside since she was blocking his path to the exit. According to the defendant, she had contacted the police, therefore he wanted to leave the residence. Blount, however, claimed to have seen Knighton reach for her pocketbook, which he believed contained a pistol. “I take out my gun and I shoot four or five times, pop-pop-pop,” Blount replied. It will be up to the jurors to decide whether Blount tried to kill Knighton or whether this was a case of self-defense when they start deliberations on Thursday.