A 90-year-old Minnesota man who neighbors said suffers from dementia has been charged with fatally shooting his son after they argued over whether to watch football on television in a bedroom or the living room, authorities said.
Kenneth Bowser of Maplewood, a St. Paul suburb, was charged with second-degree murder without intent in the death of Larry Bowser, 65, on Saturday night, according to a criminal complaint filed on Monday.
Bowser called 911 and told a dispatcher he had shot and killed his son, then met officers at his front door, the complaint said. The officers handcuffed Bowser and had him sit in his wheelchair while they went upstairs and found his son slumped in a bedroom doorway, it said.
Bowser told police his son had been calling him names and complaining about caring for him and Bowser kept a handgun he had never fired before in a bedroom drawer, the complaint said.
He told police he was watching television in the bedroom when his son asked him to come down to the living room to watch football, the complaint said. Bowser said he asked his son to leave the room, but he returned and started to pull the cables from the television, it said.
Bowser said he fired a shot in his son's direction to scare him, but it struck and killed him, the complaint said.
Neighbors told police Larry Bowser had said his father's dementia was getting worse and that he appeared to treat his father with respect.
Bowser was being held on an initial bond of $500,000. He could face a prison sentence of up to 40 years if convicted.