An 84-year-old man, William Nowak, has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting his son in the face. The incident reportedly occurred due to a dispute over the son and his wife’s failure to visit Nowak’s wife, who was receiving in-home hospice care, over the weekend.
The incident took place on Tuesday evening at Nowak’s residence on Hawksbill Street Northwest in Palm Bay, Florida. Nowak lived there with his wife, who was recently placed under in-home hospice care, and their disabled daughter. Nowak had been caring for both of them, according to court documents.
The son and his wife, who reportedly visited the house on a weekly basis, arrived around 6 p.m. on the day of the incident. Nowak expressed his disappointment that they had not visited over the weekend, leading to an argument between him and his son.
Nowak allegedly threatened to shoot his son and went to his bedroom to retrieve a gun. Despite his daughter-in-law’s pleas to put the weapon down, Nowak returned to the kitchen where his son was and fired the gun, striking his son in the face.
The son’s wife immediately called 911, and Nowak returned to his bedroom, leaving the gun behind. He was reportedly in a state of shock, crying and screaming. Palm Bay police officers arrived at the scene in response to the call, finding the victim barely able to speak.
Nowak was detained, and a safety sweep of the house revealed a spent casing and a reddish-brown substance, presumed to be blood, on the kitchen floor. A gun was found on Nowak’s bed, and suspected blood was also found on the driveway.
The son was rushed to a local hospital, where medical staff reported that the bullet had fragmented into multiple pieces lodged in his face and jaw. He was sedated due to his injuries and was unable to provide a statement.
Nowak was taken to a different hospital due to high blood pressure and appeared incoherent, unable to answer any questions. After being medically cleared on Wednesday morning, he was transferred to the Brevard County Jail. Nowak made his first court appearance on Thursday, with an arraignment scheduled for January 8.