When picking up his son from his estranged mother-in-law's Boca Raton home, a man was shot by his mother-in-law in the rib cage and shoulder. He caught part of the argument and the gunshots on his cell phone, but the video did not catch the actual altercation.

The assault comes in the middle of a bitter divorce, where the couple has been fighting over the boy's visitation. According to the 911 call made by the mother-in-law, she was afraid the boy's father was going to kidnap him and take him to New York. The sheriff's office reports that the man had shown up according to a court ordered visitation schedule to pick the boy up.

Upon arriving at his in-law's home, the mother-in-law informed the man that his father-in-law wants to talk to him inside. He refused to go in and continued to ask for the boy's belonging. It is at that point that the police believe that the mother-in-law pulled out a handgun from behind the boy's pillow and fired three shots; hitting the man in the rib cage and the shoulder.

According to the mother-in-law, the man pulled the gun on her first, but authorities have not ascertained who the gun belongs to. The woman's attorney said that his client was only protecting her grandson and daughter, who were not home at the time.

The boy's father is authorized under a court order to have visitation with his son each Wednesday night. Additionally, the man is scheduled to have "exclusive time" with his son the week of Christmas. The couple had been arguing over visitation prior to the incident.

When a couple makes the decision to part ways, there can be bitter feelings. But, if that couple shares a child together, passionate feelings of who will retain custody of the child often ignite and bring out the worst in people. Ultimately when it comes to custody, the courts base their decisions on the best interest of the child. Sometimes that means one parent is designated as the primary caregiver, while other times the couple is able to equally share custody. Unfortunately, as in this case, the decision ordered by the court is not always what the couple or their extended family members envision and extreme measures are sometimes taken.

Source: The Washington Post, "Florida man's cell phone video captures argument with mother-in-law, then shots striking him," Dec. 10, 2011