An Arkansas man is facing multiple serious charges after allegedly breaking into his parents’ home, shooting his mother in the head with a crossbow, and leading authorities on a high-speed chase that ended in Missouri. The 29-year-old defendant, identified as J. Alexander, has been charged with attempted capital murder, aggravated residential burglary, interference with emergency communications, and third-degree domestic battery.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the incident began early in the morning when the victim, Alexander’s mother, opened the door to let her pet outside. She was struck in the head by an arrow from a crossbow, immediately collapsing to the floor. She reported feeling her eardrum pop and seeing “blue” before realizing she had been shot. The defendant allegedly continued firing more arrows into her head.
When the victim’s husband—Alexander’s father—came to investigate the commotion, he found his son standing over his wife with the crossbow. As she lay bleeding, the woman pretended to be dead while the defendant demanded money from his father. Alexander stole both of his parents’ phones and forced his father to transfer over $3,400 via Cash App and Bitcoin.
The suspect then threatened to escalate the violence, allegedly telling his father, “You need to give me what is mine, or else I’m going to have to go to the next level.” At one point, he reportedly said of his mother, “She’s dead.”
After the attack, the defendant fled in his father’s stolen truck. Missouri law enforcement spotted the vehicle and initiated a pursuit. The defendant led officers on a high-speed chase, eventually crashing the vehicle. After a brief struggle and the use of a taser, law enforcement took him into custody.
At the scene, Alexander confessed to paramedics that he had shot his mother, explaining that he had been upset after she made a comment while he was petting his animal. He claimed to have grabbed a toy crossbow and shot her, stating that he pulled it back to fire again after the arrow did not go in all the way.
In a police interview, the defendant admitted to entering his parents’ home through his former bedroom window to avoid waking them. When asked why he shot his mother, he gave a chilling response, saying, “I didn’t have a reason. I just lost my cool. I woke up, and I thought that she was, like, going after my pet.” He also said that, to his knowledge, the incident involved his mother and the pet.
In addition to his mother’s injuries, the defendant’s father was hurt during a physical altercation while trying to protect his wife.
