Man Seeking Wife Allegedly Shoots Son

Police are searching for a distraught and reportedly suicidal man who came looking for his estranged wife Monday and fired three shotgun blasts through the locked doors of his former home, critically wounding his 18-year-old son.

Los Angeles Police Det. Rick Swanston said Jack Wilson, 41, showed up at the home in the 7000 block of Tampa Avenue just after 6 a.m., banging on doors and shouting. After firing one shot through a back door, Wilson allegedly shot twice through the front door of the home.

Those two shots struck his son, John, whose 18th birthday was Sunday, in the chest.

“Our investigation is showing that [Jack Wilson] knew his son was standing behind the door and he fired anyway,” Swanston said. “After he shot, he just ran away with his son lying there, possibly dying. He knew his son had been struck by the rounds.”

The son was taken to an undisclosed local hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition. The teenager was recovering well after surgery and is expected to survive, Swanston said.

Swanston said the son apparently was shot as he tried to calm his father. “The son was concerned about his father and not so much afraid of him,” Swanston said. “He was about to open the door when the shots came.”

The wife and mother, Cynthia Wilson, 37, was not there. She had moved out a few days ago after obtaining a restraining order against her husband two weeks ago after a divorce hearing. Jack Wilson, who is unemployed, was apparently still despondent over the split and started stalking her, Swanston said.

Police said records show that patrol cars had been sent to the house on numerous occasions because of disputes between the couple. Neighbors said they sometimes heard loud noises coming from the home.

“They argued like everybody else,” one neighbor said. “It’s not a marriage if they don’t fight.”

The couple also have a 16-year-old daughter, who moved in with relatives after the disputes escalated, Swanston said.

They were described as friendly and social with outsiders. They have lived at the Tampa Avenue residence for at least 15 years, one neighbor said.

Swanston said police believe Jack Wilson fled in a white 1992 Dodge Dakota pickup truck. He is being sought on suspicion of attempted murder.