Background: A section of Hawksbill Street Northwest in Palm Bay, Florida (Google Maps). Inset: William Nowak (Brevard County Sheriff”s Office).
An 84-year-old man is facing attempted murder charges after allegedly shooting his son in the face. The incident reportedly stemmed from the son’s failure to visit the man’s wife, who was receiving hospice care at home over the weekend.
William Nowak, the accused, was arrested following the altercation, according to an affidavit obtained by Law&Crime. The incident took place on Tuesday evening.
Nowak resides on Hawksbill Street Northwest in Palm Bay, Florida, where he lives with his ailing wife and their disabled daughter. His wife had recently been placed under at-home hospice care, with Nowak responsible for their care, as outlined in court documents.
The dispute escalated when Nowak’s son and daughter-in-law came by for their regular visit, which typically occurs weekly. Upon their arrival at around 6 p.m., Nowak reportedly expressed his displeasure over their absence the previous weekend.
Authorities report that tensions rose, leading to an argument between the father and son. At one point, Nowak allegedly threatened his son, saying, “Get out of my house or I’m going to shoot you.” Following the threat, he is said to have immediately retrieved a firearm from his bedroom.
“Get out of my house or I’m going to shoot you,” Nowak told his son at one point, according to the affidavit. And “immediately” as he made the threat, he is said to have walked into his bedroom and grabbed a gun.
The son’s wife followed him, urging him to put the gun down, but Nowak reportedly would not listen. He then walked past her back into the kitchen where his son remained.
The defendant, holding his gun, pointed it at his son and fired, “striking him in the face,” authorities say. The victim’s wife called 911, and Nowak walked back to the bedroom and returned without the firearm. He reportedly said something such as “what just happened” and “began crying and screaming.”
Palm Bay police officers were dispatched to the home in reference to a woman saying “her father-in-law, just shot her husband in the head.” They learned that the suspect was still in the home and the victim was “barely able to talk.”
Officers detained Nowak and did a safety sweep of the home. They found a “wet (presumed blood) reddish brown substance on the kitchen floor and a single spent casing, consistent with a shooting.” A gun was found on the bed in Nowak’s bedroom, and suspected blood was also seen on the driveway.
First responders helped secure medical care for the son, who was transported to an area hospital, with staff reporting that his injury “does not have an exit wound and the bullet fragmented into multiple pieces which are still lodged in the victim’s face and jaw” as of roughly 11:40 p.m. on Tuesday night.
He had to be sedated because of his injury and could not give a statement.
The suspect was brought to a different hospital for high blood pressure. He “appeared to be incoherent and could not answer any questions,” the detective writing the affidavit wrote. Once Nowak was medically cleared to be released from the hospital on Wednesday morning, he was placed in the Brevard County Jail.
Nowak made his first appearance in court on Thursday, and he has an arraignment scheduled for Jan. 8.
