The son of a murdered Atlanta grandmother issued a stark warning on crime after he found his mother, 77-year-old Eleanor Bowles, stabbed to death at her Buckhead home.
Michael Bowles joined "Fox & Friends First" Wednesday to discuss his mother's brutal killing and how the surge in violence across the country has affected public safety and law enforcement.
"I think the crime issue in this country is so much bigger than Buckhead," Bowles told co-host Todd Piro. "It's so much bigger than Atlanta. This is happening everywhere. And I will say she did feel safe… and that that's not unique to Buckhead. I think most of us feel safe in our homes."
"And what we want to explain to people, or I hope people understand, is that none of us right now are as safe as we think we are," he continued. "Maybe if enough people learn about this story, maybe we can all do something about it."
Bowles found his mother's body in her garage over the weekend after the suspect, 23-year-old Antonio Brown, reportedly stabbed her to death while stealing her car.
Brown is facing multiple charges in connection with the incident, and also has an extensive rap sheet. Police say Brown likely killed Bowles as he fled the scene with her 2021 Lexus RS350 SUV.
"It took, unfortunately, the worst thing imaginable to finally get him caught," Bowles noted on Brown's arrest. "I think that the community can do, and our taxpayer-funded institutions can do a better job of dealing with these people, and maybe he could have been helped earlier on. We don't know."
"It's too late for that now, obviously, but there was a failure there along the way," he continued.
Despite the tragedy, Bowles praised the Atlanta Police Department for their efforts in the case, urging other Americans to back their local law enforcement officials as crime surges nationwide.
"I want to take this moment to really express my gratitude to them and to tell everyone that's listening to this, the police officers that work across this country deserve our support," Bowles said. "That's a huge problem right now. They want to help. I can tell you that. They want to help."
"They don't have the support that they need, and I think it's on us to do to help change that," he continued.
Bowles detailed his mother as being a "beautiful" and "mindful" person who had a "lifetime ahead of her." He said she had just gotten back to the United States from a trip to Portugal and lived a very fulfilling life.
"My mom was an all-American woman," Bowles said. "She was a loving grandmother. She was a loving mother, and she loved this country. She loved this program. She would be honored to be here, obviously, under different circumstances."
