A Maryland father is behind bars and facing multiple counts of child abuse. Police say that 46-year-old Anthony Lewis physically and mentally abused his teenage son, and in one instance, handed the boy a loaded shotgun and told him to shoot himself.
The victim told police that his father would beat him with a belt until he would blackout from the pain.
"I saw weird colors in my eyes, and it started turning black," the boy said in court documents reviewed by WMAR-TV.
The boy said that when he told his parents he was having suicidal thoughts, his father forced the shotgun into his hand placed his finger over the trigger.
Do it, just do it," Lewis told his son.
Instead of pulling the trigger, the boy retreated to his bedroom and locked the door.
Lewis was taken into custody and charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, child abuse in the 2nd degree, assisted suicide by providing means, firearm use, and failure to send a child to school. He waived his right to an attorney and is being held without bond at the Jennifer Road Detention Center.