Family tragedy in Metolius: Father shoots, kills son

A 72-year-old Metolius man shot and killed his 45-year-old son at the family’s home late Monday night, telling deputies it was in self-defense as their intoxicated son attacked him and his wife, Jefferson County sheriff Jim Adkins said.

Deputies were called to the home at 461 Ninth Street in Metolius around 11 p.m. and found Mark Allen Province dead at the scene, Adkins said.

Province’s father, Roger Province, reported to investigators that his son came home drunk and attacked him and his wife, Mary, the sheriff added.

Mark Province was shot once with a .38-caliber handgun, Adkins said, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Adkins told NewsChannel 21 Tuesday no one else was injured, the son was not armed, and only the three were at the home at the time of the shooting.

“All witnesses are cooperating with investigators and no arrests have been made,” Adkins said in a news release.

Mark Province’s body was taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Clackamas for an autopsy Tuesday.

Adkins confirmed the initial police scanner reports following a call to 911 that said the father had fired two shots, but said only one struck the younger man, in the chest.

The caller to dispatch indicated the son had “kicked in the door of the parents’ bedroom” and that the father shot his son “out of self-defense.”

The mother, Adkins said, “was in the bathroom hiding when she called 911 when the incident happened.” He said he was not yet sure if the shots were fired while she was on the phone with dispatcher: “I don’t know the exact timing, but it was very close.”

Adkins told NewsChannel 21 his department was very familiar with Mark Province, who had “a history of domestic violence,” and that deputies had responded to numerous past incidents involving him at the home.

“I think Mark Province is 6-foot, 240 pounds, while the mom and dad are 72 years old and frail,” the sheriff said.

Neighbors declined to speak to NewsChannel 21 about the tragic sequence of events. But Heather Stewart, whose sister has a child with Mark Province, talked about his troubled past.

“When he gets in one of his rages, you all just better watch out,” she said, adding “I don’t know why Mark wasn’t in jail a long time ago.”

Actually, he had been. Adkins said, “We’ve been dealing with Mark for a very long time, his aggressive and abusive behavior. … I had a deputy last night telling me he dealt with him 15 years ago.”

Mark Province had been in court as recently as four months ago on charges that over the years have included assault, assault in front of his child and harassment. Two years ago, he was arrested on a strangulation charge; a year before that on a DUII.

As for the parents, Adkins said, “Mom and dad are devastated over this whole thing.”

Stewart said she believes it was, indeed, self-defense: “I believe if he would have gotten his hands on one of them, they would be dead today, and not Mark – that’s my personal opinion.”