01-04-2025
Man shot in neck by boy's father during custody exchange at Publix: affidavit
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — A man is accused of shooting a man in the neck during a custody exchange of an 8-year-old boy at a West Palm Beach Publix.
According to an affidavit, 28-year-old Joseph Halford was waiting in the parking lot on Friday for his 8-year-old son to be dropped off by the child's mother, Brittany Ferguson, and her boyfriend, Carlton Matthews.
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Ferguson told officers with the West Palm Beach Police Department that her boyfriend parked their vehicle next to Halford's, and got out to meet Halford, who was already standing next to his car.
Halford claimed that the boyfriend used his index and middle finger to make a gun gesture and pressed it into his head. He told officials that he was only there to get his son and not deal with the boyfriend.
When the suspect's son, Jacob, got out of the mother's vehicle, he grabbed the child and put him in the back of his car. That's when the boyfriend told him, 'I spared you because of your son,' according to the affidavit.
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That's when Halford pulled a semi-automatic 9mm Taurus out from his left armpit and fired a single shot, striking the man in the neck. The affidavit said the gunshot struck the front of his throat and exited the rear of his neck. Meanwhile, Halford claimed the firearm was pointed at his head and chest area and that he did not intend to kill him.
Halford's cousin told authorities that he called her, appearing to be 'in a panic,' asking her to come to the Publix. He told her he fired the gun after the boyfriend reached toward his belt line.
When police arrived, the victim was found with a gunshot wound and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Halford was arrested on a charge of attempted felony murder with a firearm. He is being held without bond.
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