A man told deputies he ran into a bathroom and jumped into the bathtub to hide after his uncle allegedly confronted him in a hallway with a shotgun and asked, “You want to die?”
The uncle later admitted pointing the gun at his nephew, according to a Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office report, but said he knew the weapon wasn’t loaded and only wanted to scare him.
Deputies responded to a South Point home after the nephew reported the incident.
He said he’d been out with his grandmother and had just returned home when he went to use the restroom. When he came back out, he said his uncle was standing in the hallway holding a shotgun.
According to his statement, his uncle pointed the weapon at him and asked if he wanted to die.
The nephew retreated into the bathroom and jumped into the bathtub to hide.
He told deputies he believed the shotgun wasn’t loaded, but didn’t know what his uncle might do. He described his uncle as hostile and unpredictable.
Uncle Admits Trying to Scare Him
After advising the uncle of his rights, a deputy asked him what had happened.
According to the report, the man admitted that he pointed a gun at his nephew and asked if he wanted to die.
He said the shotgun wasn’t loaded and that he knew it wasn’t loaded at the time.
The man explained that things had been disappearing from the house and he suspected his nephew was taking them. He said he pointed the shotgun at him because he wanted to scare him.
The deputy also asked about alcohol.
The man reportedly said he normally drinks around 12 beers a day along with liquor and smokes, but said he’d consumed about four beers that day.
The man’s mother told deputies that he had dementia and several other health problems.
Instead of being taken to jail, the man was transported to St. Mary’s for an evaluation.
Deputies also had a serious warning for the family about the guns still inside the home.
The deputy told family members that the firearms needed to be secured somewhere the man could not access them or removed from the house entirely.
According to the report, his mother was reluctant to remove them because the guns had been in the family for years.
The deputy warned the family that they could potentially face charges if the man was able to get hold of the firearms again.
No arrest was reported in the incident.
