(WHDH) — A man is facing criminal charges after he reportedly forced a shotgun into his teenage son’s hands and told him to “end it now.”
The Capital Gazette reports that Anne Arundel County Police arrested 46-year-old Anthony Jerome Lewis, of Odenton, Maryland, last week after he allegedly urged his suicidal son to kill himself.
Officers responding to Anne Arundel County High School for a reported case of physical child abuse on Wednesday spoke with a 14-year-old boy who detailed several abusive incidents involving his father over a six-month span, according to the news outlet.
Court records obtained by the Gazette indicate Lewis stuck a shotgun between his son’s legs, grabbed his hands, and forced them toward the trigger after the boy disclosed that he was having suicidal thoughts.
Lewis then allegedly encouraged his son to pull the trigger, telling him to “do it” and “end it now.”
Police say the boy also told officers about a time in which his father choked him to the point where he saw “weird colors.” Other alleged incidents involved the boy being whipped with belts and electrical cords.
The boy was also reportedly forced to stay in his room when he was not doing chores.
Lewis is charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, coercion, participation and providing the means of assisted suicide, reckless endangerment, firearm use, and child abuse.
He has since been held without bail.
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