Argument about son’s girlfriend led to father’s shooting near Hard Rock Hotel

A man arrested after his father was shot multiple times near the Hard Rock Hotel said the shooting stemmed from an argument about whom he was dating.

According to his arrest report, 52-year-old Kenneth Charles Barmer, who was on vacation with his parents, had been drinking all day Feb. 9 and arguing with his father about the woman he was dating.

After Wells Barmer had his son's room key deactivated, the argument "flared up again" and Kenneth Barmer shot his father with a gun he brought on the trip, police wrote.

His father was lying on a hotel bed a few feet away from where Barmer fired, he told detectives.

"At some point his gun jammed and he cleared the chamber and fired two more rounds," the report said.

Wells Barmer was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center with gunshot wounds to his abdomen, arm, armpit and chest. He was expected to survive, police said the night of the shooting.

The younger Barmer said he never meant to kill his father and "if he wanted to kill someone he would shoot them in the head," the report said.

He was arrested and faces charges of attempted murder and domestic battery with a deadly weapon.

Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @lauxkimber