Dad shoots family dog for killing chickens, then teen son stabs him, TN cops say

A dad shot his family’s dog, then the man’s son stabbed him in an argument, Tennessee officials said.

On June 2, Sumner County deputies responded to a home in Cottontown and learned a 17-year-old had stabbed his dad, according to a Facebook post by the sheriff’s office.

The altercation stemmed from the teen hearing a gunshot from inside the home, then finding his dad had shot the family dog because it was killing chickens, deputies said.

The teen stabbed his dad twice during the confrontation outside the henhouse, officials said.

A struggle began before the teen went back inside to grab a handgun, deputies said.

He fired multiple rounds but the dad was able to leave the property and get help, deputies said.

The teen was arrested and the father was treated for non-life threatening injuries at the scene, deputies said.

Cottontown is about a 30-mile drive northeast from Nashville.

This story was originally published June 3, 2025 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Dad shoots family dog for killing chickens, then teen son stabs him, TN cops say."