Arrest warrant issued for man shot by his stepfather during domestic dispute

An arrest warrant has been issued for a Newton County man who was shot by his father during a domestic dispute. The incident involving the shooting of 39-year-year-old Kurt William Gronwaldt of Jasper happened Jan. 11 at his parent’s home in what his father said was self defense.According to the probable cause affidavit from the Arkansas State Police, troopers and deputies from the Newton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence in Jasper for a call of shots fired. While en route, law enforcement were notified one of the parties had left the scene and had been involved in a single vehicle accident. Deputies discovered Gronwaldt was in the vehicle and had been shot in his right hand and also had sustained injuries in the car crash. He was taken to Cox Medical Center South in Springfield for treatment of his injuries.

At the residence, law enforcement interviewed Gronwaldt’s mother and stepfather about the incident. They learned Gronwaldt had fired a shotgun on the backporch. Gronwaldt is a convicted felon and not allowed to possess guns. He has multiple convictions for violent offenses and has been flagged for having violent tendencies toward law enforcement officers.

Gronwaldt was wanting to use his parents’ vehicle to be able to travel to work, but they denied his request, causing him to become angry and screaming obscenities at them. He stripped off all of his clothes and made lewd gestures at them. Gronwaldt then picked up two knives and stabbed them into a wall.

According to his mother and stepfather, Gronwaldt has a history of making threats and has threatened them with violence for years. They both said they have lived in fear of Gronwaldt for many years.

Both parents asked Gronwaldt to leave. He said he would return to the residence and burn it down with them inside and “kill two birds with one stone.”

Gronwaldt started to leave the house and began breaking items. The stepfather followed him outside with his gun. Gronwaldt advanced towards him and, the stepfather fearing he was going to become violent, fired a warning shot and then a second shot which struck Gronwaldt in his right hand.

Gronwaldt and his girlfriend then left in a vehicle.

Gronwaldt is facing felony counts of possession of a firearm by certain persons and first degree terroristic threatening. His bond will be set at $100,000 once he is taken into custody.

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