Wendell Melton argued with his son Giovanni Melton over his sexual orientation. The argument turned physical, and the dad pulled a gun and shot the son in the chest.

While Wendell initially claimed he killed his son by accident and didn't mean to fire the gun, the teen's friends and family disagreed.

Giovanni's biological mother, Veronica Melton, told KTNV:

"My ex-husband was always trying to find out if my son was gay, but my son would never tell him."

"He couldn't deal with it. When [we were together], he would make very disparaging remarks against people that were gay. To me, I know that he was homophobic."

Speaking to the outlet, shortly after the teen's death, his former foster mom Sonja Jones added:

"[Wendell] physically and mentally [abused Giovanni] for many, many years."

She claimed Wendell opposed his son's sexuality and it wasn't the first time he pulled a gun on the teen.

She said:

"He hated the fact that his son was gay. I'm sure that inside of his mind, he would rather have a dead son than a gay son."

"His dad had caught him with his boyfriend before and pulled out a gun on him."

Mourning the death of Giovanni, Sonja Jones revealed she'd loved him like her own son.

She said of the dad:

"I hope they throw the book at him and he never sees the light of day. I hope every day when he looks in the mirror, he sees his son's face."

Meanwhile, an arrest report from Henderson police sheds some light on the argument between the teen and his father.

According to the report, the father told police that he found Giovanni smoking marijuana and skipping school. Although he was just 14, his father had rented an apartment for the son.

The dad claimed that during the argument, the teen knocked him onto the floor. That's when he pulled out his gun, shooting the teen in the chest.

After shooting the son, cops arrested and charged him with murder, illegal possession of a gun, and child abuse.

Following her son's death, Geovanni's birth mother recently revealed she still hasn't been able to come to terms with his death.

She said:

"I would give anything to have my son. When my son died, I died. I died that day. My heart was broken."