BOAZ, Ala. (WHNT) — The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) says a man was arrested after a search for shooting into the ceiling of a Boaz home with his fiancé and three kids inside.

Matthew David Harden, 21, was arrested and charged with third-degree domestic violence (menacing), third-degree domestic violence (harassment), third-degree domestic violence (reckless endangerment), public intoxication and reckless endangerment. 

On August 20, 2023, MCSO said a deputy and Douglas police officer responded to a domestic disturbance between a man and woman on Carnes Road in Boaz.  While authorities were on the way, dispatchers informed them that the man had fired a gun into the ceiling of the home and ran outside, according to a release from MCSO.

MCSO added that dispatch was able to hear more gunshots being fired outside the home while they were still on the phone with the woman.

Officers arrived and made contact with the woman, who reportedly told them she and her fiancé got into a verbal argument and he shoved her. MCSO said the woman stated he then armed himself and fired the weapon into the ceiling at one point.

Authorities say the woman also informed them that their three children, all under five, were in the home when this took place.

Officers then began looking for the suspect and were assisted in the search by the Boaz Police Department’s K-9 and officers, as well as Albertville Police and Sardis Police, MCSO said.

When they had no immediate success finding the suspect, MCSO said officers began to leave, but then they heard three additional gunshots leading them to set up a perimeter. MCSO requested additional assistance from the Guntersville Police Department with their drone at that time.

The sheriff’s office said while the drone was being operated, officers heard another gunshot discharged from a wooded area near the home and additional deputies responded to the scene, notifying neighbors to stay inside their homes.

According to MCSO, officers then heard movement in the woods and commanded the suspect, later identified as Harden, to come out. Officials said Harden eventually complied and left the woods, and was taken into custody without incident.

Jail records showed that Harden was being held in the Marshall County Jail with a bond of $18,500.