Father, 55, ‘opens fire inside his home and has eight-hour standoff with police after drunkenly losing arm wrestling contest to his young son’
- Curtis Zimmerman, from Kentucky, charged with wanton endangerment
- Zimmerman is accused of firing two shots inside his home after losing several arm wrestling contests to his juvenile son
- Son and another person escaped the home unharmed early Monday, and Zimmerman spent the next eight hours in a standoff with police
- He was taken into custody after hostage negotiators secured his surrender
An arm-wrestling contest between a Kentucky father and his young son this week turned violent and led to an eight-hour standoff with Kentucky deputies.
Curtis Zimmerman, 55, from Florence, was charged on Monday with wanton endangerment.
Boone County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Philip Ridgell said Zimmerman was intoxicated when he challenged his juvenile son to an arm-wrestling competition in the early hours of Monday morning.
Curtis Zimmerman, 55, is accused of firing two shots inside his home after losing several arm wrestling contests to his juvenile son (stock image)
After losing several times, Zimmerman got upset and got into a physical fight with his son.
As the younger man was walking upstairs, Zimmerman allegedly grabbed a gun a fired two shots inside the house. He later said that he fired the rounds into the ceiling.
Two family members escaped the home unharmed and called 911 just before 1am.
When deputies responded to the scene in the 800 block of Clubtrail Drive, Zimmerman refused to leave the home, leading to an eight-hour standoff.
During the standoff, only Zimmerman remained inside of the home. Following protracted talks with hostage negotiators that lasted through the night, the man finally agreed to surrender at 8.25am to SWAT team members.
After being taken into custody, Zimmerman was transported to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Florence to be evaluated.
Once he is medically cleared, he will be transferred to the county jail, where he will be held on $5,000 cash bond.
He was not listed in the jail’s roster as of 11.30am on Tuesday.
Officials did not identify Zimmerman’s son, or reveal his age.