Consecutive failures of a pistol to discharge saved the life of a New Richmond resident following a confrontation with her son, according to the New Richmond Police Department. He was allegedly set on killing her, because “the only way he could move forward in his life was to end hers,” officers said.

According to St. Croix County Circuit Courts documents, the New Richmond Police Department received a call reporting a domestic disturbance involving a firearm at 1639 Gunston Drive at approximately 8:35 a.m. Friday, Sept. 29.

Officers took Omar Martinez, 25, New Richmond, into custody following a brief confrontation when he failed to comply with an officer’s verbal commands, authorities said. Martinez eventually complied, got on the ground and put his hands up, which allowed a second pair of officers to handcuff Martinez and place him into the back of a squad car.

Martinez faces charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon; substantial battery, use of a dangerous weapon; first-degree recklessly endangering safety, use of a dangerous weapon (two counts); and possession of a firearm while intoxicated. He was charged in St. Croix County Circuit Court Oct. 2.

According to court documents, officers arrived shortly after the 911 call to find Martinez sitting on the floor just inside the residence’s garage. Upon recognizing that law enforcement was on the scene, Martinez stood and directed his attention toward one of the officers. When Martinez exitted that garage, officers could not see a firearm, but he yelled and swore as he walked toward the officer. The officer commanded that Martinez raise his hands and stop walking.

Initially, Martinez continued to advance while yelling and swearing. After receiving further commands and reaching a patch of grass on the side of the driveway, Martinez dropped to his knees.

Inside the garage, officers found a silver “Cobra” brand .380 semi-auto pistol on the ground a few feet away from where Martinez had been sitting as well as a magazine loaded with several rounds of ammunition. The weapon did not have a round in the chamber. An additional .380 auto pistol magazine was found in Martinez’s pocket, along with a digital scale and a small weight.

According to Martinez’s mother, Teresa Osorio, 48, the incident started as she was preparing to leave for work and hand off her grandchildren - Martinez’s children - to friends who would watch them. Osorio said she opened the garage door, expecting to see her friends, when Martinez approached her and told her that he was going to kill her.

Osorio said Martinez began pushing her while telling her that she was to blame for all the issues in his life. When Osorio tried to get away, Martinez grabbed her by her sweater. Osorio then tried to call 911 on her cellphone, but Martinez took it and threw it on the ground.

It was at this point that Martinez pinned Osorio against the garage wall and told her that the “only way he could move forward in his life was to end hers,” the complaint states. That was when Osorio said Martinez pull a small handgun from his waistband and placed it against her forehead. Osorio said she pled with her son and told him he could have anything he wanted, but Martinez pressed the pistol harder and pulled the trigger.

The weapon did not fire, which caused Martinez to become more upset. He again press the weapon against Osorio’s head before pulling the trigger. The gun once again did not fire.

After the second misfire, Martinez began striking Osorio repeatedly in the head. Osorio believes this caused her to lose consciousness for several seconds. Osorio told office she did recall Martinez telling her that she would be dead once he could figure out why the weapon did not fire.

When Osorio’s friends arrived, she motioned for help, warned them about the pistol and then yelled for her friends to call 911. When Osorio’s friends began yelling, he shifted his focus to the two women, allowing Osorio to escape.

Martinez’s children were in the garage during the incident.

When officers got a chance to check Osorio for injuries, officers observed bruising to her forehead, between her eyes and on both sides of her head.

While leading the Martinez to the squad car, officers reported he was “telling us to shoot him” and calling officers names.

Once in the squad car, Martinez began to bang his head against the windows and officers advised him to stop. But that only made Martinez begin to scream obscenities at the officers. Officers then placed a safety helmet on Martinez and transported him to the St. Croix County Jail.

New Richmond Chief of Police Craig Yehlik said, in a press release sent out on Friday afternoon, that there did not appear to be any danger to the public and there was no disruption to any of the schools, given Gunston Drive is less than half a mile from both Hillside Elementary and New Richmond High School.