Gaston County 78-year-old calls 911 to report shooting his son

A Gaston County 78-year-old shot his 52-year-old son in the chest with a handgun early Tuesday to prevent him from lighting their house on fire, the father said in a 911 call released by police to the Observer and other news media.

“I don’t know much about guns, but I have to protect myself,” the man police later identified as Ralph George Wilson told 911. “He was trying to set my house on fire. ... He came at me and I shot him.”

“I told him not to come near me or I’d shoot him again,” the father told the 911 operator.

Wilson said his son, Ralph Gregory Wilson, was walking outside the home after the shooting, waving and hollering. “I don’t know how he’s walking around,” the father told 911.

The shooting happened shortly after midnight in the Wilsons’ home in the 400 block of Freedom Mill Road, near Crowders Mountain State Park.

The father told 911 that his son poured alcohol and lighter fluid in the house and said, “I’m burning the house.”

The father said he didn’t mean to shoot his son in the chest but “lower.”

“It’s either me or him, and I’m going to protect myself,” the father said.

He told the 911 operator that “demons are tormenting” his son. “Sometimes he’s real gentle, but other times when (demons) attack him, he goes crazy.”

Police said in a statement that the bullet knocked Gregory Wilson to the ground, allowing his father time to call the police. Arriving officers seized the weapon.

Ralph Gregory Wilson was driven to Caromont Regional Medical Center in Gastonia for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.

Police said they will present the case to the Gaston County District Attorney’s Office to determine whether any charges will be filed against either man.

Police also released a 911 call from a neighbor who said Ralph Gregory Wilson was banging on her door and crying.

“Please shut your door,” the 911 operator told the caller.

This story was originally published February 3, 2015 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Gaston County 78-year-old calls 911 to report shooting his son."