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Mom, 71, Charged With Assaulting, Threatening To Shoot Daughter, 53
August 4, 2010
A 71-year old Walnut Hill woman was arrested after allegedly throwing food, assaulting and then threatening to shoot her daughter.
Margaret Phillips McCullough, of Pine Forest Road, was charged with battery and felony assault with a deadly weapon without the intent to kill.
The victim said she and McCullough got into an argument, and McCullough began throwing food. The victim said her mother hit her in the back of the arm, kicked her in the lower back and slammed the refrigerator door on her arm. Then, according to the daughter, McCullough retrieved a black pistol, threatened to shoot her and tried to hit her with the butt of the gun.
The daughter called an adult male that had been outside cutting grass for help, according to the arrest report. The witness said he observed McCullough pointing the black and brown gun at her daughter.
McCullough told deputies that she did get into an argument with her daughter, and she asked her to leave. She said she did throw food out of the house, and told deputies that the daughter was taking items that did not belong to her. She denied pointing a gun, and said her only weapon was a purple and white .380 caliber pistol which she showed to deputies. Deputies were unable to locate the black and brown pistol allegedly pointed during the incident, according to the arrest report.
Deputies took McCullough into custody based upon the witness statements and the victim’s injuries.
She was released from the Escambia County Jail on a pre-trial release agreement.
Comments
19 Responses to “Mom, 71, Charged With Assaulting, Threatening To Shoot Daughter, 53”
I’m not opposed in principle to use of guns. I figure people should only use them if they are really prepared to actually use them, though. Just waving them around is a good way to get killed since people are so quick to take offense at such things.
I just keep thinking: Never point a gun unless you are prepared to fire it.
Never fire a gun unless you are prepared to shoot someone.
Never shoot someone unless you are prepared to kill them.
If you intend to kill your children, go ahead, it’s your gun.
Just be sure that’s what you intend.
If you don’t actually intend to kill anyone, you would be well advised to NOT use a gun because killing is the reasonable result of doing so.
I don’t know if this lady even pulled a gun since she didn’t have the one the “witnesses” described.
David thinking people should be thinking
I don’t think anyone here is looking for a legal reason to shoot a child. The questions I see raised, I think, are more directed to the rights of the homeowner in general when it comes to dealing with home security. The homeowner here, if she really showed a gun, according to the arrest report, did not do so with intent to kill anyone. The right to use lethal force only applies, in my opinion, when the homeowners safety or property is severely threatened. I know if someone pointed a gun at me and said get out of my house I would run for the nearest door and be gone. I think if the person had just left when asked, this bad situation could have been avoided. YES THE LITTLE THING IS CALLED RESPECT.
Interesting mindset when people are wondering if the law allows them to shoot their children.
Even if it WERE legal, shouldn’t you only do it as a last resort?
They’re so hard to replace.
good question about the castle law? looks like this will be one to watch and see what happens with it.
ponder this, what if the adult male witness in the report turned out to be more than a grass cutter, for instance, the daughters boyfriend or significant other or something. then what if they decided to get their ’story” together as I have heard can happen and managed to keep their relationship from the police. could this have made a difference in who got arrested. you know two against one usually wins. just wondering. one thing that made me wonder is that the gun they say she pointed did not any where
near match the gun she owned and voluntarily showed police. I guess until the real story comes to light, we can all just wonder. God Bless them all.
Trouble is the daughter IS NOT a child, she’s now considered a middle aged woman who by now should be acting like one and should have respect for her Mom & Dad & their home, the home she was raised in. Not to mention her Mom & especially her Dad are not in the best of health.
my opinion you should at least take care of your children as well as
you would your burning barrel and pay as much attention to them
IF NOT MORE…..
Just for arguments sake, and maybe giving this mother the benefit of the doubt,……………………..what IF………….you were the parent, loved your child, had suffered years of ……………say your child’s wayward ways or substance abuse or selfish ways or whatever the case might have been ….and that child taking advantage of you in the most selfish of ways……….and you have finally had enough of whatever the abuse MIGHT have been……….and you FINALLY had to show this child you meant business and you were not going to be victimized anymore……………………………..(pause to think)
Why didn’t the daughter just leave? If my mom were that angry with me ………I would be getting out of the house as fast as I could. Sounds like this child is selfish enough to press charges against her own mother …………(probably just to get HER own way again)………….nothing much adding up here to me……………
does the Florida castle law that allows a homeowner the right to remove or have removed any unwelcome person from there home apply only to non relatives?
maybe it should say especially relatives. we do have the right to defend our homes,
don’t we. this case makes me wonder.
its about to be a, granny fight!
Where is the LOVE? We’re talking about family members here. This is sad!
REGARDING:
“no one except you was addressing the lethality ”
Just to be on the safe side, why don’t we all just assume all guns are potentially lethal? After all, they do generally function by accelerating a piece of metal to a high enough velocity that it will penetrate skin, bone, blood vessels, organs including eyes, brain and heart.
They aren’t toys.
It’s good nobody was shot this time.
It’s bad that might not be the case next time.
It’s bad the situation came up.
It will be best if they get it all sorted out without making holes in each other–or people called in to moderate or settle such disputes–in the future.
David for peaceful resolutions
while assuming guns are lethal
it is a good thing florida has minimum sentences for the use of a gun with a felony. looks like this 71 yeal old lady might be 86 when she is eligible for parole, if then. It is no secret that a crime like this carries a min. sentance of 15 years. there are bill boards all over pensacola that cover this law. was it really worth it?
oops….i see the daughters age is 53..my bad.
i am wondering how old ms mcculloughs’ daughter is…or, how tall she is…im trying to imagine how a 71 year old is limber enough to get her leg up high enough to significantly “kick her in the lower back”…possible, i guess..probable? well…i wonder…..nonetheless, i hope that they can make amends…blood is blood…certainly, counseling should be recommended for the two of them.
If the mother asked the daughter to leave and she refused, the daughter should have been arrested. Your home should be your castle and you should be able to defend it!! What happened to the castle law the state of Florida passed??
Wondering
The color of the gun only comes into play when it comes to the credibility of the witnesses; no one except you was addressing the lethality and the lady was not charged with intent to kill anyway.
Okay, so purple and white gun isn’t as lethal as a black and brown one? Sad situation when mother and daughter comes to such means!
Woder what the fight was over – must have been the daughter taking things – according to the mother. Sad to say this but parents and children seem to get along better if they live a few hundred miles apart. Hope things get worked out.