PANAMA CITY BEACH — A Florida Highway Patrol officer was hospitalized and his teenage son arrested after an argument led to a stabbing, according to police reports.
During a Monday night domestic altercation with his son, 45-year-old Bryant Gay, an off-duty FHP officer, suffered two stab wounds to the chest at their Whispering Dunes subdivision home on the 300 block of Sand Oak Blvd. shortly after 6 p.m. Panama City Beach Police arrested Jared Gay, 18, afterward and have charged him with stabbing his father, police reported.
Bryant Gay was covered in blood outside the residence, holding his chest, when backup officers arrived at about 6:30 p.m. Monday. Another FHP officer had given him a ride home because Jared Gay had left him stranded at a local business, police reported.
Jared Gay opened the door for his father, and moments later Bryant Gay walked back outside holding his chest as blood ran down from his wounds.
Jared Gay told officers he armed himself with a knife when he heard his father come home. He concealed the folding knife in his hand as the two walked up together to his room. An argument ensued, and Bryant Gay armed himself with a “slapjack” after seeing the knife. During the ensuing altercation in the bedroom, Jared Gay stabbed Bryant Gay twice in the chest, police reported.
Bryant Gay was taken to the hospital in stable condition, though suffering two stab wounds to the chest, a laceration to the face and a punctured lung. Authorities still are investigating the incident, but Jared Gay has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.