MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A 76-year-old grandfather is recovering Wednesday night after police say his grandson attacked him.

As he recovers, his 22-year-old grandson Devin Dowdy waits to see a judge.

This comes after officers say Dowdy attacked his grandfather.

The violence started after the grandfather told police he took a gun from Dowdy’s home because his grandson is a convicted felon, but when the grandfather went to give the gun back he says Dowdy repeatedly punched him in the face, beating him until he fell to the floor, becoming dazed.

Dowdy is also accused of intentionally stepping on his grandfather’s finger. 

Sandy Bromley, the executive director of the Shelby County Crime Victims and Rape Crisis Center, says October is domestic violence awareness month.

We often think of intimate partner violence like boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, or wives, but Bromley says that isn’t always the case.

“It can be much broader than that. It can be family members, grandsons, grandparents, adult children with their parents, etc,” she said.

Bromley also acknowledged that family violence can be complicated. 

“So we process about 150 family violence orders of protection every month. We certainly hear about a lot of family violence,” she said. “We know and love the person who might be hurting us and maybe we don’t want them to be in trouble, but that’s why it is important for that family to really come together and figure out, do some internal conflict resolution, whatever that’s going to look like, talk it through. Figure out what’s really going on. If there are drugs or guns that you can remove from the home to remove temptation, that’s one option for families.”

If you or a loved one are in need of domestic violence resources, visit the Family Safety Center and the Shelby County Crime Victims and Rape Crisis Center.