A Keys man was shot in a domestic dispute — but the person who fired isn’t in jail

A Lower Keys man was wounded by gunfire at his home Sunday night — after the sheriff’s office said his stepson shot him in the abdomen in what appears to be self-defense.

But the two men’s stories differ on what happened at the home in the 30000 block of Coconut Highway on Big Pine Key, which is about 30 miles from Key West.

The unidentified 50-year-old man, who was airlifted to a Miami-Dade hospital, told detectives he was shot without warning. He added, while cursing, that he was going to kill his 25-year-old stepson after he is released from Jackson South Medical Center.

“He is expected to recover,” said Adam Linhardt, spokesman for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, on Monday.

No arrests have been made but the case remains open.

The sheriff’s office would not release the names of the people involved because it is an “ongoing investigation involving domestic violence,” Linhardt said.

An incident report was not immediately released Monday after a public records request by FLKeysNews.com/Miami Herald.

According to Linhardt, the 25-year-old shot his stepfather with a .22-caliber handgun while on the phone with 911, which he called at 7:30 p.m. to report that his mother was being battered.

The stepson gave the wounded man first-aid until deputies arrived and ordered him out of the home.

He told detectives he fired the gun in self-defense and also to protect his mother, who backed up her son’s version of events. She was taken to Lower Keys Medical Center in Key West because she had injuries “indicative of being beaten,” Linhardt said.

Domestic abuse happens regularly in the home, the stepson said, adding his stepfather “routinely threatens to kill him, her and law enforcement,” and is known to have firearms, according to deputies.

His mother said she is regularly hurt by her husband and that he threatens to kill them and law enforcement.

“The incident — particularly the domestic disturbance aspect of the case — continues to be under investigation and charges may be pending,” Linhardt said. Detectives are working with the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office.