From the North Andover (MA) Eagle-Tribune of March 30, 2006
Father claims self defense in shooting of sonUPDATE: I have removed the family name in the interests of their privacy. The original article is no longer available online.
A father who shot his son in the arm Tuesday night said he acted in self defense to prevent his son from assaulting him and his wife with a metal pipe.
Police told John [] Jr., 30, the son of John [] Sr., that he was under arrest Monday while he was en route to Elliot Hospital in Manchester.
Officials said [] Jr. drove to his parents' home at 21 King Charles Drive on Monday and smashed in their glass storm door with a metal pipe he brought with him. Police believe his actions stemmed from an earlier argument he had with his parents about his pregnant girlfriend.
Court documents reveal [] Jr. threatened to kill his parents multiple times before [] Sr. fired at least two shots at his son with a .38-caliber pistol, injuring the younger man's left arm. Detectives confiscated the gun and the metal pipe as evidence for their investigation.
Police said they initially responded to a call from neighbor Kenneth Tomaswick, who lives directly across the street. Tomaswick told officials he heard tires squealing and three minutes later gun shots at the [] home.
His story coincides with the written statement police received from [] Sr.'s wife, Linda []. She told police she had been chatting online with her son Monday night when she told him she thought his girlfriend's pregnancy was a mistake.