Florida Domestic Violence: Man Fatally Shoots Father, Calls 911

A man in Tavares, Florida, was charged with murder after he fatally shot his father in the chest apparently following a domestic dispute late Tuesday afternoon.

According to the police, the man of unknown age, identified as Matthew Perez, shot and killed his father in their home on the 4800 block of Marsh Harbor Drive. He then called 911 about 5:40 p.m. to report about the crime that he had committed.

Officers immediately rushed to the home. On arrival, they found Matthew at the door talking to someone on the phone. He told the officers that he had put the gun away in his bedroom.

The officers handcuffed Matthew before going in and checking in on his father. They found his father, identified as Joaquin Perez, near the back porch of the house. According to police, Joaquin was already dead when they arrived.

The arrest reports said that when officers asked Matthew whether he shot his father, he replied “ Yes Sir. He is Dead.” He then started crying. The reports did not mention the presence of anybody else in the house. It was not clear whether the gun belonged to Matthew. Police were investigating the source of the weapon.

The motive behind the slaying was unclear but according to sources, a domestic dispute escalated and then ended up in the gruesome crime.

Matthew was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder. The investigation was ongoing and no additional information was revealed at the moment.

The cases of domestic dispute crimes have been on a rise during the coronavirus lockdown. In a similar incident, a woman in Texas shot and killed her husband. The woman, identified as, 45-year-old Wendy Behnke, called 911 to report about shooting her husband, identified as 49-year-old Larry Behnke. The officers found Larry unresponsive and immediately rushed him to the Medical City Arlington Hospital, where he succumbed to injuries. Wendy later confessed to the police that a domestic disturbance led to the shooting. She was arrested and charged with one count of murder. Wendy was booked into the Arlington city jail.