Elderly Man Douglas Ferguson Run Over By Lawnmower While Trying To Kill His Son With Chainsaw, Police Say

Police say 76-year-old Douglas Ferguson was trying to kill his son with a chainsaw when he was run over by a lawnmower, causing the elderly man to have his leg amputated.

The strange sequence of events took place this week in Bristol, Tennessee. As the Bristol Herald Courier reported, police were called to a home on Highway 421 and found the elderly man bleeding from his leg and head. Police learned that Douglas Ferguson had tried to attack his son while his son was mowing the yard. The son ran his father over with a lawnmower in an attempt to defend himself, police said.

Ferguson was badly injured and taken to a hospital, where he had his leg amputated. Police said the father and son had a longstanding feud, but did not say what sparked the attack this week.

Police had to wait to arrest Ferguson until after he underwent surgery to amputate the leg.

The strange circumstances of the attack drew considerable interest, with a number of national news outlets picking up the story. It also had parallels to another case from earlier this year. In June, a California man was arrested for allegedly attacking his wife with a chainsaw in front of their children.

Police arrested 32-year-old Alejandro Alvarez for the attack, the Los Angeles Times noted. He had initially fled the scene, leading police to issue a public warning that Alvarez could be armed and dangerous, but he was ultimately apprehended.

Neighbors who witnessed the attack said they heard the woman scream followed by the sound of a chainsaw.

“They just kept screaming and then I heard what sounded like a chainsaw,” said neighbor Darian Pickle. “I was like, ‘What’s going on?'”

Another neighbor said they saw Alvarez’s wife covered in blood and screaming for someone to call 911.

As KTLA, reported, the couple had lived in the neighborhood for five years, and neighbors said they had been a quiet family with three young boys in elementary school. They could never remember another incident like the alleged chainsaw attack, but now said they were shaken by the incident.

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“We want to feel safe where we live, and we just don’t know sometimes who our neighbors are,” said neighbor Martha Garcia.

Tennessee man Douglas Ferguson was charged with attempted second-degree murder for his alleged chainsaw attack. He was taken into jail and given bond of $25,000. His son was not charged for running Ferguson over with a lawnmower.