Nov. 22--BELLINGHAM -- A 10-year-old boy shot a man in the face with a BB gun several times early Tuesday, Nov. 22, while he was trying to defend his mother from being assaulted at a northeast Bellingham duplex, police said.
About 7 a.m., Paul R. Newman, 45, came home drunk to a room he was renting in the 2800 block of Valencia Street, said Bellingham Police spokesman Mark Young.
Newman flew into a rage when he found his room was messy, Young said. Newman then kicked in the door to the victim's bedroom and began choking her.
Her son was awakened by the commotion and tried to stop the assault by shouting at the attacker, Young said. When that didn't work, the boy smacked Newman with a wooden board, Young said. Newman ran outside to chase the boy, thinking he had left the house.
The mother, 46, managed to lock the door, but Newman tried to get back in through an open window, Young said. He grabbed the mother by the arm as she was trying to shut it and refused to let go.
The son then returned with a pump-action BB rifle. When Newman saw the rifle he threatened to kill the boy and the mother, Young said, so the boy shot him in the face as many as four times.
The boy and his mother escaped and ran to a neighbor's home to call police, Young said.
Newman was arrested on investigation of second-degree assault and two counts of felony harassment for death threats. He was taken to St. Joseph hospital for injuries and was expected to recover.
The son won't be charged, Young said, because he was trying to defend his mother.
Reach CALEB HUTTON at [email protected] or call 715-2276.
Copyright 2011 - The Bellingham Herald, Wash.
