Kent Reeves gives stunning testimony about the night his son shot him.
Kent Reeves needed no help walking into the courtroom and taking the stand on Wednesday to tell jurors what happened inside his family’s home on April 9, 2022, when his then 22-year-old son Garrett Reeves shot him more than a dozen times.
The Erath County auditor miraculously survived that shooting and has been back to work now for months. There is little physical evidence of the trauma he sustained just 15 months ago.
Kent Reeves looked strong on Wednesday as he recalled the events that led to that fateful night, but the emotional toll it has taken was far more obvious.
Kent choked up when he told District Attorney Alan Nash that he loved his son. He described Garrett, who was home-schooled, as a gifted musician and classically trained pianist who excelled in his studies.
“He was a very good kid growing up,” Kent said.
“Were you proud of him?” Nash asked.
Kent answered, “I still am.”
Before delving into his side of the story, Kent described the relationship with his son as loving and supportive.
“We had a great relationship, we never fought,” he said.
Kent, a firearms instructor, said guns are a big part of his family’s life.
And while Garrett routinely carried a pistol everywhere he went, Kent said he became alarmed when he started carrying an AR-15 – even when he went to get a pizza from the freezer.
“It was very odd,” Kent said. “I didn’t understand it and hoped it would phase out.”
FROM NORMAL TO NIGHTMARE
The following is a condensed version of what Kent said happened on the night of April 9, 2022.
After arriving home about 8 p.m., he and Garrett sat outside and had a beer while his wife Lora played with the dogs.
About an hour later, the two went inside and mixed a couple of drinks - vodka and orange juice - and began talking about life.
“We were having a ball,” Kent said.
But when the conversation turned to a disagreement over a job Garrett had recently left, things quickly became heated.
Kent said that Garrett – who had his guns with him at the time – abruptly stood up and grabbed his rifle.
“I told him, son, it’s time to put the guns up and go to bed,” Kent recalled.
Then Garrett asked numerous times, “Are you trying to disarm me?”
Kent said he reached to take hold of Garrett's rifle and said, “This has gone too far. Stop."
Then Garrett started firing.
After several rounds were fired, Kent said he heard Garrett draw his pistol, then shoot him in the stomach.
At that point, Kent said he grabbed his son in a bear hug and the two fell to the ground.
“I didn’t want to hurt him and I didn’t want him to hurt me anymore,” he said.
Moments later, his wife Lora came downstairs and Kent said, “Help me. Your son shot me.”
Testimony is expected to resume on Thursday.
