It happened at a home on the corner of Griffith near Harding in Delhi.
Investigators are not saying much about the murder, but friends say the father and son lived together and they have had a rocky past. They never thought their friend, 46-year-old Donald McDonald, would have been killed allegedly by his own father.
Yellow crime tape surrounded the victim's house for much of the day Sunday. Curtis Tipton and his brother Kevin tell Action News their friend Donald McDonald was involved in an argument with his father, Danny inside the house Saturday night.
"They got mad at each other, and the next thing you know, they went out of control," said Curtis Tipton.
Curtis says he was outside the house Saturday night when he heard the argument between Donald and his father get heated.
"I don't think Donald thought he would ever shoot him," said Kevin.
According to Tipton that is what happened. Tipton says when he heard what sounded like a fire cracker he ran inside to help -- only to find his own life threatened.
"Danny McDonald was standing there with the gun pointed at me."
Tipton said he called 911, but it was too late. Donald had been killed.
"I don't believe another man would shoot his own kids, his own kid."
They say Donald, a mechanic who was their best friend, will be greatly missed.
The suspect was in custody Sunday night. Merced County Investigators are expected to release more information about this murder on Monday.
This is the first homicide in Merced County this year.
