Father tried to kill son with chainsaw, lost leg after son defended himself with lawnmower

An ongoing feud between a father and son in Bristol, Tennessee, led to a violent battle with a chainsaw and a lawnmower as weapons.

It ended with the father losing a leg and facing an attempted second degree murder charge, according to the Bristol-Herald Courier.

What happened?

The fight occurred on June 28, but the father, identified as Douglas Ferguson, 76, wasn’t arrested until Tuesday because of the extent of his injures. Ferguson faced a leg amputation, an extended hospital stay and rehabilitation, according to a statement from the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office.

Ferguson allegedly attacked his son with a running chainsaw while his son was mowing the front lawn of a home, according to reports. The son, who was not identified or charged, defended himself by running over his father with the mower.

“The son defended himself against the attack by running over the suspect with the lawnmower,” according to statement obtained by the Kingsport Times-News. “The injuries that the suspect (Ferguson) sustained were as a result of the lawnmower striking and running over him.”

Authorities arrived at the scene to find Ferguson bleeding from his leg and head. He was taken to the hospital where doctors amputated his leg, according to reports.

Investigators from the sheriff’s office said the two men had a long-running feud, but they did not elaborate. They also did not say what sparked the chainsaw attack, which happened at a home on U.S. Highway 421 in Bristol.

Anything else?

Det. Matt Harrison investigated the case and obtained a warrant for Ferguson’s arrest, the Kingsport Times-News reported. When he was arrested, Ferguson was also served with a violation of probation warrant on a previous charge of aggravated assault. Additional details were not available.

Bond was set at $25,000 for the attempted murder charge. There is no bond for the violation of probation, according to reports.