ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 30, 1996 TAG: 9607300096
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN SNIDER STAFF WRITER
William Scott Spencer came home Saturday night "angry at the whole world," his father said.
Moments later, he was dead, shot as his father struggled to get a gun away from him.
The confrontation lasted little more than a minute, but Scott Spencer's family spent the weekend trying to figure out if they could have prevented it.
Bill Spencer said his son, who was 30, had been upset about his long separation from his wife.
The couple had two boys, ages 10 and 5, and having a complete family unit was important to Scott, his father said. Scott and his sons lived with his parents in the 5600 block of Ambassador Drive, near Cove Road.
"Every once in a while, he would suffer from a little depression, especially if he'd had any alcohol," Bill Spencer said. "He just had one of his bad times [Saturday night]."
Scott Spencer had been out Saturday and came home about 10 p.m. He had been drinking, Bill Spencer said, and he was upset.
He directed his anger mostly at his father, and eventually pulled out a revolver the family kept in the house and pointed it at him, Spencer said.
Bill Spencer was trying to take the gun away from Scott when it went off, he said.
"I just think he had too many things pulling at him at the same time, and he erupted," Bill Spencer said.
Roanoke County police did not release information about the shooting until Monday. No charges have been filed against Bill Spencer.
Spencer said Monday that he wanted people to remember the good things about his son, instead of how his life ended.
"He was a good person. I don't want it to come out that he wasn't," Spencer said. "We all have our troubles in life."
Scott Spencer loved his children, Bill Spencer said. He worked at the Roanoke Civic Center and enjoyed playing golf with his older son in his spare time.
"Despite all his faults, he was a caring father," Bill Spencer said, "and we all loved him."
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB