Last Updated:March 25. 2008 10:19AM
Published: March 25. 2008 10:19AM

LAWRENCEBURG, Tenn. -- A physiological evaluation has been ordered for a 17-year-old boy accused of killing his father, authorities said today.

Lawrence County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Terry Beecham said General Sessions Judge Patricia McGuire issued the evaluation order. Beecham said the teenager was sent to a facility in Chattanooga for 21 days.

The boy, who was identified by family friends as Tommy Schankweiler, has been charged with first-degree murder. At present, he is being charged as a juvenile but he could be charged as an adult, pending the results of the evaluation.

Schankweiler is accused of shooting his father, 37-year-old Thomas James Schankweiler Jr., once in the head with a .22-caliber rifle on Friday night. The incident reportedly happened at the family’s residence on Piney Road, which is in the Piney community of Lawrence County. The community is west of Lawrenceburg.

Authorities said the shooting was the result of an ongoing domestic situation between the teen and his father. Witnesses told investigators that the victim had physically assaulted his son earlier in the day and the boy’s mother had him leave the residence in an effort to defuse the situation.

Investigators said the boy returned later in the night and shot his father while he was sleeping.

Tommy Schankweiler, a junior at Lawrence County High School, is being held in the juvenile detention center at Columbia, Tenn.