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A man from Kentucky has been charged with shooting his wife after a domestic dispute over tidying up their home before going on vacation escalated.
Identified as Patrick Brents, he now faces charges related to domestic violence assault, as stated in an officer’s report accessed by Oxygen regarding the incident that took place on March 14.
The Louisville Metro Police Department responded to a call about a shooting at a residence on Southwestern Parkway around 4:16 p.m., as detailed in a statement shared with Oxygen.
According to the police, “The victim was taken to UL Hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead. Both the Homicide and Domestic Violence units of the LMPD are actively investigating the matter.”
During questioning, Brents claimed that the firearm accidentally discharged, hitting his wife, according to the report.
Patrick Brents’ Son Says Fight About Cleaning Sparked Dispute
When officers arrived at the scene, according to the citation, they found the female victim suffering from a gunshot wound to her abdomen.
The couple’s son—who was at home at the time of the shooting—told a domestic violence detective at the scene that an argument had broken out between mother and son after she’d asked him to clean up the house before they went out of town, so that it would be clean when they came home.
He described his mom as “getting on him about cleaning,” adding that his mother and father had also argued about “some family members” before Brents allegedly got up, went to his bedroom and grabbed a gun out of the drawer, according to the citation. When Brents returned, the son said his mom asked his father not to shoot her.
Brents allegedly replied, per the citation, “What are you going to do about it?”
The son “heard the gun go off” and then saw his mom fall back after she had been shot, according to the report.
He told detectives that he had hidden behind a door because he was afraid his father might “come at him with the gun,” authorities said.
When the son asked his father “Why the f–k you do that to my mom?”, he told police, according to the citation, that his father just replied, “She’s shot.”
Patrick Brents Allegedly Told Police the Gun “Went Off”
The son ran from the home and found his cousin, who was playing basketball, and instructed him to call 911.
Brents allegedly told detectives when they arrived that he had gone to his room to get the gun because he was planning to leave the home. He said his wife followed him into the room and the weapon just “went off” and struck her in the stomach.
He’s currently being held at a Louisville Metro Government jail. He was scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on March 24, according to court records reviewed by Oxygen. It’s unclear whether Brents has retained an attorney.