An argument allegedly over child custody turned into a domestic violence situation that ended after one of the participants opened fire with a handgun Tuesday around 3 p.m. on East Portland Street in Springfield.

An argument began inside the home that elevated into physical confrontation. The argument then spilled out of the home into an attached carport and finally into the front yard of the home, with five women and two males involved in the incident yelling threats and profanity at each other.

The alleged gunman went back into the home and reappeared with a holstered handgun at his side and threatened to use the weapon, stating “I’ll take care of this.” He was intercepted by one of the women who lived in the home with him and she ushered him back into the home, telling him to put the gun away. The man with the gun yelled they were “trying to take my son.”

Springfield police officer on the scene of a shooting on East Portland Street. The yellow markers in the yard denote locations of shell casings from the gunman’s handgun.

Four of those involved with the incident had retreated to a gray 4-door Jeep but a few re-engaged the situation and the argument went back into the home from the yard.

After the argument escalated inside the home the second time, those involved again went into the carport area and into the front yard of the home.

Three of the women and one of the males involved had returned to the Jeep parked at the curb, with one of the women standing next to the open drivers side door when one of the women inside the home came toward the Jeep carrying half of a bed frame that had been in the carport. She threw the bed frame at the woman by the vehicle, striking the door and front quarter panel of the vehicle.

The bed frame that was thrown in the incident laying in the road after the vehicle it was thrown against drove away

At this point, the woman standing by the Jeep door charged the woman who threw the bed frame and they began to fight, eventually falling onto the front yard where they continued to battle.

The alleged gunman then charged from the home into the yard firing a 5 round burst from a handgun into the air at around a 45 degree angle toward the women who were fighting and the Jeep. The two women stopped fighting as the one who was standing next to the Jeep retreated to the vehicle. The alleged gunman then fired a second volley of bullets.

Three women and one male fled in the Jeep east on Portland Street.

Springfield police were on the scene within minutes and took the alleged gunman into custody. Police are still investigating the incident and encourage anyone with more information to contact the SPD at 417-864-1810.