Boater claims man waved gun at him
The old saying “don’t make waves” proved true for a local boater who said he was threatened last week by an angry, gun-waving man as he was out on the Barren Fork River.
The boater said the incident occurred in the Indian Mound area of Westwood around 2 p.m. Thursday as he was boating in the Barren Fork River which wraps around the neighborhood. The victim said the alleged perpetrator appeared to be around 30 and became angry over the wake his boat was making.
“The man told the boater he was making too many waves where people couldn’t swim,” said Police Captain Bryan Denton.
Following the confrontation, the boater said the man disappeared only to return moments later with a rifle. While not pointing the rifle at him, the boater said the man displayed the gun to make sure he saw it.
Although no shots were fired, the alleged action on the part of the unidentified man with the gun could legally be construed as aggravated assault since he likely displayed the weapon as a means of intimidation or to place the boater in fear of his life and welfare.