Boy Shoots Mom Over Cat Fight—She Survives by Playing Dead

A woman in Bentonville, Arkansas feigned death to survive after her son allegedly shot her multiple times in the head with a crossbow following a dispute about a cat, investigators revealed in court documents. According to a recently filed affidavit detailed by Law&Crime, Joseph Alexander, 29, faces attempted capital murder charges after breaking into his parents’ home and attacking his mother on March 24, leaving her with “multiple arrows protruding from her face and head.”

“I just like literally just stood up and lost my shit because of my cat,” Alexander allegedly told detectives during questioning, when asked to explain his motive for the brutal attack. Following the assault, Alexander allegedly extorted money from his father before fleeing in a stolen truck, leading police on a high-speed chase that ended with his arrest in Missouri, approximately 75 miles from the crime scene.

Victim’s Harrowing Account of the Attack

Investigators from the Bentonville Police Department interviewed the victim from her hospital bed, where she provided a chilling account of the attack. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the woman told officers she heard her cat meowing at her bedroom door around 6:45 a.m., and as she opened the door to let it out, “felt like her ear drum had popped and saw blue.”

After being struck with the initial arrow, she was shot two more times while lying on the floor. “When I did, I got popped two more times; it was an arrow sticking out of my head,” she told police. The victim reportedly “played dead” while her son continued yelling at her, until he and her husband went into the garage. Unable to locate her phone, she eventually grabbed her walker and made her way to a neighbor’s house to seek help.

Escalation of Threats and Demands

The father told investigators that he heard his wife screaming and ran downstairs to find his son standing over her with a crossbow while she lay on the ground with arrows protruding from her head. After struggling with his son to protect his wife, he attempted to reason with him, only for Alexander to allegedly state, “Don’t worry about it, Dad, she’s dead.”

Court documents examined by 5NEWS reveal that Alexander then demanded money, forcing his father to transfer $2,000 via Cash App—the maximum amount possible—followed by an additional $1,400 transfer. When the suspect demanded access to his parents’ bank account, but they couldn’t recall the passcode, Alexander allegedly took his father’s credit card and the keys to his truck before fleeing the scene.

Prior Threats and Break-In Details

Investigators learned this attack may have been foreseeable, as the father recalled that days before the incident, Alexander had visited their home demanding money. During that encounter, Alexander allegedly threatened, “you need to give me what is mine, or else I’m going to have to go to the next level,” prompting his father to secure all doors and windows of the residence.

Despite these precautions, Alexander reportedly gained entry through an unlocked window leading to his former bedroom. According to investigators cited by Branson Tri-Lakes News, once inside, he executed the attack that left his mother with life-threatening injuries and what police documents describe as “obvious signs of a struggle,” including a trail of blood through the living room.

Arrest and Conflicting Statements

Following the attack, regional law enforcement was alerted to be on the lookout for Alexander and the stolen vehicle. Stone County Sheriff’s deputies located the truck approximately 75 miles away in Missouri and attempted to pull it over, but the suspect allegedly fled, reaching speeds of 120 miles per hour before eventually crashing.

After being taken into custody, Alexander provided conflicting accounts of the incident. He initially told a paramedic he had been petting his cat at his parents’ home when his mother said something to it, prompting him to grab what he described as a “toy crossbow” and shoot her. “It did not go in all the way, and she was just laying there screaming, so I pulled it back and did it again,” he allegedly stated.