Man Attacks Son with Machete Outside Land O' Lakes Store, Deputies Say

A homeless man, angry about his recent job loss, took it out on his son in front of a Land O' Lakes store Thursday—with a machete, deputies say.

According to a Pasco County complaint affidavit, Paul Brock Jr., 52, saw his son's work truck outside the NAPA Auto Parts store at 3911 Land O' Lakes Blvd. around 8:45 a.m.

His son, Paul Brock, works for Dobson's Landscaping, and he was in his truck with a co-worker while their manager was in the store, according to an incident report.

Brock Jr. saw the truck and parked his bicycle in front of it, as if to block it. Brock got out of the truck and his father, Brock Jr., told him he was going to kill him and the manager, the report stated.

Brock Jr. then pulled a machete from the bike's basket and swung at his son, cutting Brock's right wrist, according to the report.

Brock told deputies his father was angry that he had been fired from the company recently.

"He's mad because he was just laid off by my boss. He (Brock Jr.) comes in late, is always on drugs, and is not a good worker and, for that, my boss had to let him go. He's not happy about it," Brock told a deputy, according to the incident report.

The work crew left the scene and reported it from a Walgreens store in Trinity, according to the report.

Brock Jr. was located by a responding deputy at the Country Store at 4109 U.S. 41 in Land O' Lakes, where he works part time, the report stated.

A 14-inch, "extremely rusty" machete was removed from Brock Jr's bicycle basket by the deputy. Post -Miranda, Brock Jr. denied swinging the machete at his son, saying he only attempted to talk to his son "peacefully," according to the report.

Brock Jr. was arrested and charged with aggravated battery. He remained in the Land O' Lakes jail Friday in lieu of $10,000 bond.